As widely expected, the grand jury in the murder of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police returned no indictments for her slaughter, only that one of the officers may have damaged other apartments with gunfire. Her execution was fully justified, according to AG Daniel Cameron. The reaction by Louisville's Black community was swift and also justified.
Protesters vowed Wednesday to continue their fight for racial justice after learning that just one of three Louisville Metro Police officers who fired shots at Breonna Taylor's apartment will be criminally charged.
In an afternoon announcement, Jefferson County Judge Annie O'Connell said a Jefferson County grand jury has indicted former detective Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
The grand jury declined to bring charges against Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detective Myles Cosgrove, who were also involved in fatally shooting Taylor on March 13 at her south Louisville apartment.
"It's a tragedy. This is an embarrassment, and it's exactly why there have been protests for the last (119) days," said pastor Tim Findley, a regular at the protests. "This is a disappointing, hurtful, painful day in our city. What I just heard amounts to a slap on the wrist for him murdering, for them murdering Breonna Taylor.
A National Guard curfew was set up for 9 PM, and two LMPD officers were injured by gunfire.
At least two Louisville Metro Police officers were shot in downtown Louisville Wednesday night, just eight hours after an indictment was returned in the Breonna Taylor case.
Interim LMPD chief Robert Schroeder confirmed two officers were shot and sustained non life-threatening injuries. One officer is in surgery, and the other is alert and in stable condition.
A suspect has been arrested, Schroeder said.
One officer was shot in the abdomen below their bulletproof vest and is in surgery, and a second was shot in the thigh, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.
The shooting occurred at South Brook Street and Broadway Avenue, according to MetroSafe.
MetroSafe confirmed a second shooting occurred on West Broadway at 9:30 p.m. and said an officer was involved but did not say if the officer was a shooter or victim.
Max Gersh, a photographer working for The Courier Journal, said he saw "a line of officers move toward a gas station with rifles up. Shortly after, they had somebody pinned to the ground and cuffed." He said he wasn't there when the officers got shot.
Doesn't matter if he was the shooter, LMPD have their suspect. The family is furious because they know justice will never happen under the Trump regime.
For nearly 200 agonizing days, Breonna Taylor's family has waited to know if three Louisville police officers would face charges in her death.
On Wednesday, they got their answer.
And it wasn't what they had hoped for.
At the youth homeless shelter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she works as a residential adviser, Taylor's cousin Tawanna Gordon watched with tears in her eyes as Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that only one of the officers was indicted by a grand jury — but not for killing Taylor.
"I'm not surprised," Gordon, 45, told The Courier Journal on Wednesday, minutes after Cameron's press conference ended. "But I'm mad as hell because nothing's changing. … Today's decision was an additional injustice on our family and this country. Until Americans start getting mad enough and speaking out and forcing legislators to change the laws for all races, nothing is going to change.
"And it needs to happen now. Not tomorrow, but today."
In his press conference, Cameron said he met with Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, and other family members before addressing the media.
"Every day this family wakes up to the realization someone they loved is no longer with them," he said. "There's nothing I can offer today to take away the grief and heartache this family is experiencing."
Palmer left without talking to media. And her attorneys said she would have no comment Wednesday.
We continue to be nothing more than animals to them, dumb beasts of burden who have to be put down at the slightest whiff of disagreement. The basis of policing in America today is "We require the right to kill Black people without consequence in order to protect white America."
Black Lives Still Matter.
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