A jury from Kentucky, U.S. decided on Wednesday to formalize the charge against a police officer involved in death of Breonna Taylor, 26-year-old black woman killed by security officers inside the apartment where she lived during a drug search, no narcotics were found at the time.
Officer Brett Hankison will be charged with three counts of “arbitrary danger” in the case that ended in Taylor’s death. That kind of accusation means that the author put another person’s life in danger and acted indifferently regarding this risk, according to the American Justice.
ONLY HE WILL RESPOND, AND THE OTHER TWO OFFICERS DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN TAYLOR’S DEATH HAVE NOT BEEN FORMALLY CHARGED. NONE OF THEM WILL BE PROSECUTED FOR SHOOTING THE YOUNG WOMAN.
Hankinson was fired from the police on June 23rd. In the resignation letter, the head of the corporation, Robert Schroeder, said the policeman violated procedures by showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life by shooting blindly and arbitrarily” in the apartment where Taylor lived.
Last week, the city of Louisville, the city where Taylor was killed, agreed to pay $12 million to the young woman’s family. In addition, under the agreement signed between the mayor and Taylor’s relatives, the police will need to invest in reforms in the corporation to prevent further actions from ending in death.
According to Breonna Taylor’s mother, the police obtained an order to enter, without warning, the apartment where the young woman and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, lived to conduct a drug search operation. Frightened and thinking it was an invasion of criminals, the man shot the three policemen, who struck back and shot the young woman.
No drugs were found at the scene. The gun used by Walker’s boyfriend was in good standing. According to him, the police did not call the emergency services after shooting Breonna.
Breonna Taylor’s death sparked protests in Louisville, which soon spread to the United States mainly after George Floyd’s death in May. Anti-racism demonstrations continue across the country, albeit in smaller numbers, and have even involved boycotts of sports teams.
On September 13th, after winning the Tuscan Formula 1 Grand Prix, English driver Lewis Hamilton wore a shirt that asked for arrest for the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor. “We will not be silent,” he said.
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