A Mixed Result

Better than nothing I suppose, but I think they’re all guilty as hell.

I’ll bet I’m not the only one dissatisfied. I predict protests, big ones.

Actions of officer who killed Breonna Taylor ruled ‘justified;’ Another charged with wanton endangerment
By Mark Berman, Marisa Iati, Abigail Hauslohner and Keith McMillan, Washington Post
September 23, 2020

A grand jury in Jefferson County, Ky., has charged Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police detective, with three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree. Hankison, one of the officers involved in the March 13 shooting death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, was fired by the department in June, with a termination letter saying he “wantonly and blindly” shot 10 times into Taylor’s apartment.

Taylor’s name became a rallying cry for policing overhauls and racial justice as the Black Lives Matter movement swept the United States this summer.

  • The grand jury did not announce any charges against the other officers involved in Taylor’s death, and did not anticipate doing so in the future, said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R), who, like Taylor, is black.
  • Cameron said the state’s investigation determined the officers’ use of force was justified because they had been fired upon first, by Kenneth Walker, who was Taylor’s boyfriend. There were no body cameras in use to corroborate this, according to Cameron. Walker has sued Louisville police and disputed their version of events.
  • Cameron said the state investigation did not determine who fired the fatal shot. He said he asked the FBI crime lab to investigate as well, and it determined Det. Myles Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.
  • Cameron said the investigation uncovered one witness who heard the detectives identify themselves, disputing earlier reports that a “no-knock” warrant was being served.
  • National Guard units are reporting to Louisville, and the city will be under a 9 p.m. curfew as officials prepare for the possibility of protests after Cameron’s announcement. Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said police will seek to protect the public “while also ensuring the constitutional right for people to express their feelings in a lawful and peaceful manner.”