A grand jury has indicted one officer on criminal charges six months after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police in Kentucky. The jury presented its decision against fired officer Brett Hankison Wednesday to a judge in Louisville, where the shooting took place.
Taylor, who was not armed, was shot multiple times by officers who burst into her home on March 13 during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found in her home.
Protesters across the country have demanded justice for Taylor and other Black people killed by police in recent months.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the charges in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon. Cameron said police officers identified themselves before Taylor’s boyfriend opened fire. This was a surprising reversal; for six months, it had been reported that the officers were shot at during a no-knock raid.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron says that the officers did announce themselves before breaching the door while executing a search warrant that ended in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor pic.twitter.com/roAJQpiXQv
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) September 23, 2020
Crowds in downtown Louisville reacted with disbelief, frustration, and tears at the news —
Women in tears after the charges are announced. Three counts of Wanton endangerment in the first degree, a class D felony in Kentucky carrying 1-5 years in prison, plus potential monetary fines #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/oHsFXHJjlm
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020
Meanwhile, officials in Louisville, Kentucky’s largest city, were preparing for protests and possible unrest as crowds began to block traffic.
At least one truck was seen distrubting with homemade signs, water bottles, and a few shields to protesters immediately after the verdict.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced a 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew on Wednesday and urged people to protest peacefully. Fischer also activated the Kentucky National Guard.
Unloading the riot shields from the Uhaul #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/F9KqzRB5lM
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020
Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by officers who entered her home using what was, allegedly, a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation on March 13. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville’s Metro Council.
Cameron’s office had been receiving materials from the Louisville Police Department’s public integrity unit while they tried to determine whether state charges would be brought against the three officers involved, he has said.
Officer Brett Hankison was fired from the city’s police department June 23. A termination letter sent to him by interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said the white officer had violated procedures by showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he “wantonly and blindly” shot 10 rounds of gunfire into Taylor’s apartment in March.
Hankison, Sgt. Johnathan Mattingly, Officer Myles Cosgrove, and the detective who sought the warrant, Joshua Jaynes, were placed on administrative reassignment after the shooting.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police burst in, hitting Mattingly. Walker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but prosecutors later dropped the charge.
Walker told police he heard knocking but didn’t know who was coming into the home and fired in self-defense.
On Sept. 15, the city settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, agreeing to pay her $12 million and enact police reforms.
Protesters 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 a 911 call by Taylor’s boyfriend marked the beginning of days of protests in Louisville, fueled by her shooting and the violent death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.
Several prominent African-American celebrities including Oprah and Beyoncé joined those urging that the officers be charged.
The Associated Press contributed to this article