Breonna Taylor's Family Reacts To Decision Not To Indict Officers On Murder Charges
The family of Breonna Taylor, the Black woman fatally shot by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in March, are “heartbroken” and “devastated” by a grand jury’s decision not to file manslaughter or murder charges against the officers involved, their attorney Ben Crump said Friday.
“The system as a whole has failed her,” Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said in a statement read aloud by Bianca Austin, Taylor’s aunt.
“You didn’t just rob me of my daughter,” Palmer’s statement said. “You robbed the world of a queen.”
The grand jury indicted former Louisville police Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for firing shots into neighboring apartments, but not into Taylor’s.
Crump and Lonita Baker, another attorney for the family, demanded that officials release a transcript of the grand jury hearing, expressing doubt about the evidence that was presented.
None of three officers involved in the shooting were charged with manslaughter or murder, as Taylor’s family and anti-racism protesters nationwide have demanded.
“Sister, you was failed by a system you worked hard for and i am so sorry,” Taylor’s sister, Juniyah Palmer, posted on Instagram. “I love you so so so so so much.”
Breonna Taylor's sister, Juniyah, on Instagram: "sister i am so sorry" pic.twitter.com/gT13dI9Kl7
— Darcy Costello (@dctello) September 23, 2020
Crump called the lack of murder charges against Hankison “outrageous and offensive.”
“If Brett Hankison’s behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor’s apartment too,” Crump tweeted on Wednesday. “In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!”
In the early hours of March 13, officers fatally shot Taylor, a 26-year-old Black EMT, in her own apartment. The officers, who used a battering ram to enter Taylor’s home, had a “no-knock” warrant because they...
