When the Louisville, Kentucky mayor announced the Louisville Police Department declared a state of emergency ahead of the grand jury’s decision in the Breonna Taylor case earlier this week, some took that as a bad sign.
If the LPD officers responsible for her death were going to be charged with her murder, why would the department need to go to such an extreme measure? Furthermore, why did the city of Louisville just pay Taylor’s family a $12 million wrongful death settlement if no one is responsible for her death?
It turns out people had a right to be concerned.
On Wednesday (September 23), the grand jury revealed none of the officers involved would be charged in the 26-year-old emergency medical technician’s death. Instead, former officer Brett Hankison — one of three officers connected to the incident — was indicted for first-degree wanton endangerment charges. Basically, Hankison was accused of putting Taylor’s neighbors in harm’s way.
According to CNN, the two other officers who fired shots the night Taylor was killed — Sgt. John Mattingly and Det. Myles Cosgrove — will face no charges following months of protests and civil unrest.
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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron explained the officers were “justified in their use of force” because Taylor’s boyfriend fired the initial shots. He also said an FBI ballistics analysis showed Cosgrove fired the fatal shot.
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Shortly after the news broke, the Kentucky National Guard and state police were called in as the demonstrations continued. Countless celebrities took their outrage, sorrow and shock to social media, including Snoop Dogg, Common, Curren$y and Rapsody.
Check out their reactions below.
