A Jefferson County grand jury announced the indictment of an ex-Louisville Metro police officer in connection to the March shooting death of Breonna Taylor, although he was not the one who fired the fatal shot.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced Wednesday afternoon that former detective Brett Hankinson was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Two other officers present at Taylor’s apartment, including the officer that fired the shot that killed her, were not charged.
Cameron said three officers were at Taylor’s apartment to serve a search warrant with one witness telling investigators the officers knocked and announced their presence prior to breaching the door.
click to download audioCameron said Officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove entered the apartment and were fired upon by Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Mattingly was hit and returned six shots. Cosgrove fired 16 shots. Taylor was hit a total of six times, including a fatal shot fired by Cosgrove. Cameron said Officers Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in protecting themselves.
click to download audioWalker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but prosecutors later dropped the charge.
Cameron said there was no video from the warrant service, and the first police video came when patrol officers arrived on the scene.
The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.
The three officers fired a total of 32 rounds. Hankinson was charged with wanton endangerment for firing through a sliding glass door and window with some of his rounds entering neighboring apartments with people inside.
Ben Crump, the attorney for the Taylor family, called the grand jury findings “outrageous and offensive.”
Cameron said that only certain charges could be filed based on the elements of what happened in the apartment.
click to download audioCameron said any civil rights violations would be prosecuted at the federal level. He said criminal charges will be prosecuted at the state level.
The death of Taylor became a national story and fueled protests in Louisville and across the nation in demanding justice for her and other Black people killed by police this year. Many celebrities and athletes spoke out demanding the officers be charged with murder as the time passed with no outcome. Cameron said all of the evidence had to be studied before the case was presented to the grand jury Monday.
click to download audioIn response to today’s announcement, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced a nighttime curfew for Jefferson County for the next three days.
Last week, the city settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylors mother, agreeing to pay her $12 million and enact police reforms.
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