One Officer Has Been Indicted in Breonna Taylor's Case

Related | On Her 27th Birthday, Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor

According to Kentucky statute 508.060, "A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person."

Crowd of racial justice protesters gather in Louisville to hear decision in #BreonnaTaylor case, expected within minutes pic.twitter.com/LoXMEI1dB8

— Chris Kenning (@chris_kenning) September 23, 2020

The news comes days after Breonna Taylor's family settled with the city of Louisville. In a now-deleted tweet from this morning, the attorney for Breonna's family, Ben Crump, said, "While not fully what we wanted, this brings us closer to #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor."

Crump has now revised his statement, instead calling the announcement "outrageous and offensive," tweeting, "If Brett Hankison's behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor's apartment too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!"

Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive! pic.twitter.com/EarmBAhhuf

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 23, 2020

If Brett Hankison's behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor's apartment too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!

— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 23, 2020

The US National Guard was deployed in Kentucky ahead of the announcement, and the Louisville mayor implemented a curfew in anticipation of the response. Just two days ago, it was reported that Robert Schroeder, the interim chief of police, had declared a state of emergency.

The reason why those measures needed to be taken was not stated at the time of announcement. There were, however, no murder or manslaughter indictments, and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove were not indicted by the grand jury on any charges.

Charges are not convictions. Indictments are not justice.

A living #BreonnaTaylor is the only justice there is. All else is accountability & prevention.

We defund, abolish, and build strong communities. We are dismayed but not destroyed. Breonna gives us courage to keep on.

— brittany packnett cunningham does not do remixes. (@MsPackyetti) September 23, 2020

Apparently, no one killed Breonna Taylor. She simply died in a “tragedy.” Like she had a hard fall or got hit by a bus. This apparently is the law in thr State of Kentucky, according to @kyoag Cameron.

— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) September 23, 2020

Officers murdered Breonna Taylor. This decision isn't justice, it's injustice. We must keep standing up and speaking out. We must keep organizing. We must keep the pressure on until there is full accountability, a reimagining of policing, and transformative justice—nothing less. https://t.co/i72bWnTKzC

— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) September 23, 2020

Daniel Cameron is on Donald Trump’s short list as replacement of #RGB on the Supreme Court. The same man who decided to not charge the officers responsible for killing #BreonnaTaylor. Vote.

— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) September 23, 2020

for me, the hardest part of seeing the Breonna Taylor merch and whatnot, was knowing that this would be the outcome.

— quinta brunson (@quintabrunson) September 23, 2020

This is certainly not the end of the fight. Continue to demand #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor; one officer's indictment is not enough.

Photo via Getty/ Jason Connolly/ AFP