US Grand Jury Indicts 1 Police Officer In Breonna Taylor's Death - Judge

US Grand Jury Indicts 1 Police Officer in Breonna Taylor's Death - Judge

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2020) A US grand jury in Jefferson County, Kentucky, has indicted former police officer Brett Hankison for his role in the events that occurred during the police raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor, Judge Annie O'Connell said during a virtual reading of the charges on Wednesday.

O'Connell said Hankison has been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in the first-degree after shots he fired during the police raid of Taylor's apartment went into an apartment next door and seriously endangered the three residents inside.

A warrant has been issued for Hankison's arrest and his bond will be set at $15,000, O'Connell said.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that the use of force by two police officers in Breonna Taylor's death in March was justified under state law after they were fired upon by Taylor's boyfriend. Cameron said this justification bars them from pursuing charges in Taylor's deaths.

Cameron added that, according to a civilian witness, the police officers knocked on the Taylor apartment's door and announced their presence - contrary to initial reports that police officers executed a no-knock drug search warrant late at night.

Taylor was killed when the police officers executed the drug search warrant and her boyfriend allegedly fired a first shot fearing the entrants were burglars. The shot prompted the four police officers to unleash a hail of bullets on the house, hitting Taylor eight times.

The killing of the 26-year-old African American medical technician was initially overshadowed by the onset of the novel coronavirus pandemic that began to sweep the country around the same time. Activists, celebrities and demonstrators have since made it a point to keep her name in the news cycle and call for justice over her death.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced last week that the city will pay $12 million to Taylor's family as part of a settlement for her death.