Brace Yourselves: The Grand Jury Decision Is In With the Breonna Taylor Case

AP featured image — Police officers stand near barriers added to block access to downtown, Sept. 22, 2020 in Louisville. Officials in Louisville were preparing Tuesday for more protests and possible unrest as the public nervously awaits the state attorney general’s announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death. Taylor’s shooting has been followed by months of protests in the city. (AP Photo/ Dylan Lovan)

Everyone in Louisville was on edge today as the decision on whether or not to prosecute the officers in the case was scheduled to come in.

People all over the town were preparing for more rioting.

Now the word is in from the grand jury.

Breonna Taylor: Grand jury announces decision in the fatal shooting of 26-year-old by Louisville police https://t.co/83Cabqk9wF

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) September 23, 2020

UPDATE: Former Louisville Detective Brett Hankison has been indicted for wanton endangerment for his role in the March 13 Breonna Taylor shooting.

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove were NOT indicted by the grand jury. https://t.co/xdh88E4ynb

— Tessa Duvall (@TessaDuvall) September 23, 2020

Charges were returned against only one officer, Brett Hankison. He was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment, according to the reports just out.

Wanton endangerment even in the first degree is only a class D felony, which can have a sentence of between one to five years if convicted in Kentucky.

The shooting involved officers doing a warrant at the home where Breonna Taylor was staying with her boyfriend. Her boyfriend fired on the police and they fired back, hitting Taylor eight times and killing her. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron confirmed that it was not served as a “no knock warrant” and that the investigation showed that the actions of the other officers who fired back were justified. The decision on Hankinson appears to be based upon that he fired in a way that went into another apartment. Hankinson did not fire the shot that killed Breonna Taylor.

From NPR:

Ahead of the grand jury decision, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced a countywide curfew from 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. for 72 hours beginning Wednesday night. On Tuesday, the mayor declared a preemptive state of emergency as the city braces for possible protests.

The police department shut down parts of downtown Louisville to car traffic, saying they wanted to ensure the area is safe for demonstrators and those who otherwise live and work there.

Louisville Mayor Declares State Of Emergency Ahead Of Breonna Taylor Announcement

The governor has activated the National Guard and a lot of people have massed outside the courthouse for the announcement. They are not going to be happy that the charges weren’t more and that the other officers weren’t charged.

So brace yourselves, it’s about to get spicy in Louisville. Hope no one gets hurt in what’s likely to be the reaction to this.