One Officer Charged in Breonna Taylor Case, But Not for Her Death
2020-09-24
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1A Kentucky grand jury on Wednesday charged one of three police officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
2The 26-year-old Black woman was shot by officers inside her home in Louisville last March.
3The officer, Brett Hankison, was not charged for his part in Taylor's death, which happened during a police raid of her apartment on the night of March 13.
4Instead, the grand jury charged Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots into other nearby apartments during the raid.
5Hankison, who is white, has already been dismissed from his job.
6No other charges were announced against the other two officers who took part in the raid, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.
7Immediately after the announcement, people expressed anger that the grand jury did not do more.
8"Justice has NOT been served," tweeted Linda Sarsour of Until Freedom, a group that has pushed for charges in the case.
9"Rise UP. All across this country. Everywhere. Rise up for #BreonnaTaylor."
10Protesters in Louisville have pressured state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to charge the police officers who shot Taylor.
11Cameron, a Republican, is Kentucky's first Black state attorney general.
12Officers shot Taylor, an emergency medical worker, several times.
13Police had entered her home using a warrant during a drug investigation.
14The warrant they used did not require the officers to announce their presence.
15The use of these so-called no-knock warrants has since been banned in Louisville.
16The warrant used to search Taylor's home was connected to a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found.
17Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police entered, hitting Officer Mattingly.
18Walker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but lawyers later dropped the charge.
19Walker told police he heard knocking but did not know who was coming into the home.
20He said he fired his gun in self-defense.
21Cameron said the state's investigation found that Hankison and the two other officers announced themselves before entering.
22Cameron said the officers acted in self-defense after Walker fired at them.
23Cameron has said his office received materials from the Louisville Police Department's public integrity unit while trying to decide whether to bring state charges against the three officers involved.
24Hankison was dismissed from the city's police department on June 23.
25Acting Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said in a dismissal letter that Hankison had shown "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "wantonly and blindly" shot 10 rounds of gunfire into Taylor's apartment.
26Last week, the city settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer.
27The city agreed to pay her $12 million and put in place police reforms.
28Protesters in Louisville and across the country have demanded justice for Taylor and other Black people killed by police in recent months.
29The release in late May of an emergency 911 call by Taylor's boyfriend marked the beginning of days of protests in Louisville.
30The protests were also fueled by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
31I'm Ashley Thompson.
1A Kentucky grand jury on Wednesday charged one of three police officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old Black woman was shot by officers inside her home in Louisville last March. 2The officer, Brett Hankison, was not charged for his part in Taylor's death, which happened during a police raid of her apartment on the night of March 13. Instead, the grand jury charged Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots into other nearby apartments during the raid. 3Hankison, who is white, has already been dismissed from his job. 4No other charges were announced against the other two officers who took part in the raid, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove. 5Immediately after the announcement, people expressed anger that the grand jury did not do more. 6"Justice has NOT been served," tweeted Linda Sarsour of Until Freedom, a group that has pushed for charges in the case. "Rise UP. All across this country. Everywhere. Rise up for #BreonnaTaylor." 7Protesters in Louisville have pressured state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to charge the police officers who shot Taylor. Cameron, a Republican, is Kentucky's first Black state attorney general. 8Officers shot Taylor, an emergency medical worker, several times. Police had entered her home using a warrant during a drug investigation. The warrant they used did not require the officers to announce their presence. The use of these so-called no-knock warrants has since been banned in Louisville. 9The warrant used to search Taylor's home was connected to a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found. 10Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police entered, hitting Officer Mattingly. Walker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but lawyers later dropped the charge. 11Walker told police he heard knocking but did not know who was coming into the home. He said he fired his gun in self-defense. 12Cameron said the state's investigation found that Hankison and the two other officers announced themselves before entering. Cameron said the officers acted in self-defense after Walker fired at them. 13Cameron has said his office received materials from the Louisville Police Department's public integrity unit while trying to decide whether to bring state charges against the three officers involved. 14Hankison was dismissed from the city's police department on June 23. Acting Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said in a dismissal letter that Hankison had shown "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "wantonly and blindly" shot 10 rounds of gunfire into Taylor's apartment. 15Last week, the city settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer. The city agreed to pay her $12 million and put in place police reforms. 16Protesters in Louisville and across the country have demanded justice for Taylor and other Black people killed by police in recent months. The release in late May of an emergency 911 call by Taylor's boyfriend marked the beginning of days of protests in Louisville. The protests were also fueled by the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died while being arrested by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. 17I'm Ashley Thompson. 18The Associated Press reported on this story. Ashley Thompson adapted the report for VOA Learning English. was the editor. 19_________________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21apartment - n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live 22wanton - adj. showing no thought or care for the rights, feelings, or safety of others 23warrant - n. a document issued by a court that gives the police the power to do something 24integrity - n. the quality of being honest and fair 25lawsuit - n. a process by which a court of law makes a decision to end a disagreement between people or organizations 26We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.