Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear condemned “systemic racism” in the United States after a grand jury indicted an officer involved in the raid of Breonna Taylor’s home.
Beshear, a Democrat, made it clear that he had no say over the grand jury’s decision to indict former Louisville Detective Brett Hankison on three counts of reckless endangerment on Wednesday while declining to charge the two other officers involved in the incident. He said the ruling highlighted that there is still racism in the U.S.
“As governor, you can do a lot of things, and some people think you can do just about anything, but as governor, I cannot control an attorney general’s office, I cannot control decisions made by a grand jury, and I don’t lead local law enforcement offices,” Beshear said. “What I can control is how I lead, what I say, what I am committed to doing.”
“I start with the humility and the acknowledgment that I will never feel the weight of 400 years of slavery, segregation, and Jim Crow. I will never personally feel that weight, but I can listen, and I can try to hear. And I can be clear: Systematic racism exists in this world, in this country, and in our commonwealth,” he added.
Beshear thanked Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Republican, for including his office in the logistics of the decision but said that Cameron failed to share all of the details about the shooting with his office before the grand jury’s announcement was made. He requested that Cameron post all evidence given to the grand jury online for the public to review without harming the case against Hankison.
“He described the investigation, but he talked about information, facts, evidence, that neither I nor the general public have seen,” Beshear said. “I believe that the public deserves this information.”
