Actions

Grand jury indicts 1 officer on criminal charges related to Breonna Taylor case, not for her death

Officer not charged for Taylor's death
Posted at 1:25 PM, Sep 23, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-23 16:29:03-04

A Kentucky grand jury has announced that Brett Hankison will not face direct charges for the death of Breonna Taylor.

According to the grand jury indictment, at least three charges of wanton endangerment have been recommended against former officer Brett Hankinson for shooting into neighboring apartments.

Wanton endangerment is a Class D felony. If convicted on the charges, Hankison could face up to five years in prison for each count.

The attorney general’s press conference is being held at the Kentucky History Center.

The announcement, slated for 1:30 p.m. ET, comes shortly after the Jefferson County grand jury presented its report on the Taylor case to Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell at 1:15 p.m.

Ahead of the attorney general’s announcement, Mayor Greg Fischer signed two executive orders.

One order declared a state of emergency due to the potential for civil unrest. The other restricts access to downtown parking garages and bans on-street parking in order to provide an extra layer of security for protests in and around Jefferson Park, where many protests over the case have taken place.

The mayor has also set a curfew in the city from 9:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. ET.

What we know about the Breonna Taylor case

Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers who served a no-knock search warrant at her home in the early morning hours of March 13.

During the incident, Taylor’s boyfriend has said that he thought the plainclothes officers were intruders and fired a warning shot. The officers returned fire, shooting Taylor several times, and she died in the hallway of her apartment.

In June, the Louisville Metro Police Department fired one of the officers involved, Brett Hankison, saying he violated procedures by showing "extreme indifference to the value of human life." The other two officers involved in the case, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, have been placed on administrative reassignment, WLEX reports.

Protesters across the state have said these actions are not enough and have continuously called for the arrest of the officers involved in Taylor's shooting.

Taylor is one of a handful of African Americans who have died at the hands of police officers or former police officers in 2020. The killings prompted massive protests calling for an end to police brutality across the country.

Jordan Mickle at WLEX contributed to this report.