The family of slain Black woman Breonna Taylor at the hands of Louisville law enforcement are taking action. Her family has responded to a Kentucky grand jury opting not to prosecute the three officers connected to her death and demanded details be made public about how the shocking decision.
Breonna Taylor’s Family Makes Demands
According to reports, Taylor’s legal team have demanded grand jury details be made public. The family’s statement came during a news conference in Jefferson Square Park.
Speaker after speaker pilloried that outcome, repeatedly criticizing Cameron, the police force and the country’s justice system, which Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, described as fundamentally not set up to protect people of color in America. “It’s clear that that is the way they will always see us,” Palmer said in a statement that was read aloud at the news conference by her sister, Bianca Austin. “I was reassured Wednesday of why I had no faith in the legal system, in the police, in the law … The system as a whole has failed her.” (Herald-Dispatch)
Louisville Police Officers Shot
According to reports, two – if not more – Louisville cops suffered gunshots Wednesday evening. However, it’s still not certain if the shooting was a result of unrest from locals and peaceful protestors.
The officers were shot around 8:30 p.m. near Broadway and Brook Street as residents took to the city’s streets to protest a grand jury’s decision to not indict police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor, the Courier-Journal Reported. Federal authorities confirmed the shooting and have arrived to aid in the investigation. “The FBI Louisville SWAT team has responded to an LMPD officer being shot and will continue to assist in the investigation,” the FBI’s Louisville branch tweeted. (NY Post)
Big Sean and Kash Doll Disgusted In Grand Jury
After the Kentucky grand jury announced its decision not to charge all three officers connected to Taylor’s death, Detroit rappers Big Sean and Kash Doll went to their social media pages to share their shock. Kash reposted a message from the NAACP acknowledging justice for Breonna not happening today.
Breonna Taylor Officer Charged
A Kentucky grand jury indicted former cop Brett Hankison for his extreme indifference to human life during the fatal March 2020 shooting when he fired his gun into three apartments. However, none of the counts are directly linked to Taylor’s death.
The grand jury presented its findings before Judge Annie O’Connell, and the hearing was broadcast remotely. The attorney general’s office asked that a warrant be issued and that Hankison be held in lieu of $15,000 cash bond. Grand juries do not determine guilt or innocence; only whether there is enough evidence to bring criminal charges. Typically, they hear only from the police and prosecutors to make that determination. Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers during a middle-of-the night raid on her apartment on March 13. Three officers fired their weapons: Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Officer Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison. (WFPL)
