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Activists, Protesters and Citizens React To “Breonna Taylor” Indictment

By: Chuck Creekmur (@ChuckCreekmur)Category: News

Former detective Brett Hankison was indicted on charges related to the Breonna Taylor murder, but the result is a lack of justice.

(AllHipHop News) Outrage has erupted as nobody was held accountable for a no-knock raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police.

Former detective Brett Hankison has been indicted on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in a no-knock raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor. His fellow officers, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who also participated in an attempt to serve a warrant were not indicted.

Ben Crump, attorney for the Taylor family, released a statement stating they were now “closer to justice.”

“Jefferson County grand jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison Breonna Taylor’s death, with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree! We urge @kyoagto accept this recommendation ASAP. While not fully what we wanted, this brings us closer to #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor,” Crump said on twitter. 

Others expressed outrage through social media. Shaun King, the vocal social media activist, said the use of force that killed Breonna Taylor was not even addressed in the indictment. Breonna Taylor was not listed as a victim in the indictment.

Taylor was an EMT that was killed in her sleep, in her own home as three plainclothes Louisville police officers executed a “no-knock” warrant. Taylor’s boyfriend was the subject of the warrant, but he was already in jail. The cops went to his old address, which was where she resided in March when she was slain.

The latest developent is far from the result activists, protesters and citizens demanding justice were seeking.  A wanton endangerment charge, a class D felony, has a maximum five year prison penalty.

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Attorney General Daniel Cameron, a Black man, justified not persuing the other officers in a press conference Wednesday afternoon.

“The decision before my office is not to decide if the loss of Breonna Taylor’s life was a tragedy. The answer to that question is unequivocally yes. I know that not everyone will be satisfied. Our job is to present the facts to the grand jury, and the grand jury then applies the facts … If we simply act on outrage, there is no justice. Mob justice is not justice. Justice sought by violence is not justice. It just becomes revenge.”

Carmen Perez, of the New York Justice League, responded to Cameron in a scathing statement.

A true miscarriage of justice.

Today’s decision to indict just one of the many officers responsible for the murder of #Breonnataylor is a reminder of why we chant #blacklivesmatter ! Louisville, and America as a whole has set the tone that it is okay to brutally murder Black Women and not be held accountable. We wholeheartedly resent that and are ready to disrupt every aspect of America’s Injustice system that upholds white supremacy and denies its responsibility in matters of systemic injustice. A system that allows Brett Hankinson, Myles Cosgrove, Jonathan Mattingly, and Joshua Jaynes to continue to avoid accountability and enjoy impunity.

We are reminded by the great Malcolm X’s words: “ if you stick a knife in my back 9 inches and pull it out 6 inches, that’s not progress. The progress comes from healing the wound that the blow made. They haven’t begun to pull the knife out.. they won’t even admit the knife is there.”

It’s time we divest from Policing as we know it, and invest in true safety and justice for Black and Brown communities. Our hearts are with @tamikalpalmer and the entire family of Breonna Taylor. We will continue to lift up this family and join the activists who’ve put their bodies on the line demanding justice for Breonna Taylor.

Get your knees off our necks, and your knives out of our backs.

 

Taylor’s case, along with others like George Floyd, have sparked international protests and outrage. Protesters had already begun to assemble at a “makeshift memorial” in downtown Louisville, according to CNN.

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