In the police killing of Breonna Taylor, a grand jury has indicted former detective Brett Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment. The other two officers involved — Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detective Miles Cosgrove — were not charged.
Only one officer is criminally charged - for wonton endangerment - in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor on March… https://t.co/5DNyS2RXSj— Ayman Mohyeldin (@Ayman Mohyeldin) 1600882104.0
The Courier Journal reported that "A wanton endangerment charge is a class D felony and carries a penalty of one to five years in prison." That means that Hankison can serve up to 15 years for the three counts on which he was indicted. A warrant is out for his arrest and the judge has set his bond to $15,000.
An attorney for the Taylor family told CNN that while this wasn't what they wanted, it was a step forward towards justice.
Ben Crump, attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, said of the grand jury's decision: This is "not fully what we… https://t.co/9IlSxqVDUT— CNN Breaking News (@CNN Breaking News) 1600883634.0
The Washington Post reported that the city of Louisville is preparing for potential protests in the wake of the grand jury's decision. There will be a 9:00 p.m. curfew in the city.
For the Taylor family and for many Black Lives Matter protestors and allies, true justice would be the indictment of all three people involved in her death. And the indictments would be for killing her and not for "wanton endangerment."
Unfortunately, this was not the case. No officers were charged with homicide and two have not been charged at all. The charges were for shots fired into other apartments.
While Hankison may serve hard time for his actions, it still doesn't come close to justice for the unfair killing of Breonna Taylor.