Kentucky grand jury indicts one officer in Breonna Taylor case

Hankison was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The court issued a warrant for his arrest and set the bond at $15,000. Louisville Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, two officers who were also involved in the shooting, were not charged.

Protesters began marching through downtown Louisville immediately after the charges were announced. Some demonstrators were filmed unloading a U-Haul filled with signs calling for the police department to be abolished. Protests are expected to take place this evening in cities throughout the country.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron detailed the facts of the case during a press conference on Wednesday. He said only one of the shots that hit Taylor was fatal and that there was “no conclusive evidence” that Hankison’s was responsible for the fatal shot. Mattingly and Cosgrove were “justified in their use of force,” according to Cameron’s team. Kentucky law prohibits additional charges from being applied to officers who used fatal force in self-defense.

Cameron said he spoke with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, to discuss the charges with the family. He said he would not be commenting in detail on the case because he is prohibited from making comments that could damage the case by “poisoning the jury pool.” He said the FBI would be continuing its investigation into whether Taylor’s civil rights were violated.

“A human life was lost. We cannot forget that,” Cameron said, later adding, “Justice is not often easy. It does not fit the mold of public opinion and it does not conform to shifting standards. It answers only to the facts and to the law.”

First degree wanton endangerment is a Class D felony in Kentucky and holds a sentence of one to five years in state prison for each count.

Taylor’s death has garnered national attention, and she has become the face of many protests against racial injustice and police brutality along with other black people who were killed or wounded during violent confrontations with police this year, including George Floyd in Minneapolis and Jacob Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

In preparation for the grand jury’s ruling, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared an emergency order and closed much of the downtown area out of fear that riots may break out. He also issued a 9 p.m. curfew for the city just before the grand jury’s announcement. Many protesters had already gathered before the grand jury’s announcement despite roadblocks and other barriers that aimed to keep protesters out of the area. Local, state, and federal police officers will be joined by the Kentucky National Guard to secure the city on Wednesday night.

Cameron addressed the likelihood of protests during his press conference. He condemned “mob rule” and urged that protesters remain peaceful.

“There will be celebrities, influencers, and activists who having never lived in Kentucky will try to tell us how to feel, suggesting they understand the facts of this case and that they know our community and the commonwealth better than we do, but they don’t,” Cameron said. “Let’s not give into their attempts to influence our thinking our capture our emotions. At the end of the day, it is up to us. We live here together.”

Taylor was killed on March 13 as the officers conducted a “no-knock” warrant on her apartment to search for drugs. According to Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Waker, the officers broke into the home without identifying themselves as police. Walker fired a shot at the officers, thinking that they were home intruders. His shot struck Mattingly in the leg.

The officers returned fire, and five of the shots hit Taylor. Hankison “blindly” fired 10 shots into the apartment, according to Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder, and has since been fired because of his handling of the raid. Walker was arrested for shooting Mattingly on the night of the raid, but the charges against him were later dropped. No drugs were found in Taylor’s home.

There were several charges that the grand jury could have leveled against the officers. Before the grand jury’s ruling, many attorneys speculated that Hankison could be charged with wanton endangerment for blindly firing 10 shots. Wanton endangerment is acting in any way that could cause “substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another.” The grand jury could have also pressed charges under any of the four degrees of homicide, including reckless homicide and murder.

The city of Louisville settled a massive wrongful death lawsuit with Taylor’s family earlier this month. The city agreed to pay the family $12 million, along with promises that the city would pursue policing reforms.

Taylor’s death has also inspired a flurry of legislation to ban no-knock warrants at the local and federal levels. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul introduced the Justice for Breonna Taylor Act, a bill that would effectively ban no-knock warrants.

Cameron announced that he would be creating a task force to review how warrants are granted in Kentucky despite noting that officers had “not served as a no-knock warrant” at Taylor’s home because the officers had knocked before entering. He said this claim was corroborate by a witness. Walker maintains that he did not hear the officers did not identify themselves as police.

“I believe conducting a top-to-bottom review of the search warrant process is necessary to determine if changes are required and to establish best practices,” Cameron said. “You have my word that I will also vigorously prosecute the criminal charges announced today. I can assure you that my team of prosecutors will continue to give this case their attention and time.”