Three officers involved in a raid on a Louisville woman's home that resulted in her shooting will not face charges for her death.
On Wednesday, a Jefferson County Grand Jury reviewing the investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor issued an indictment — but for only one of the Louisville Metro Police Department officers involved in the shooting that took place at her apartment while they were serving a "no-knock" warrant.
Officers were serving that warrant to look for Taylor's ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover, who was not present at the apartment and had been arrested in a separate raid earlier that evening. Glover was a suspect in a drug investigation.
Taylor's current boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a single shot when officers entered Taylor's home the evening of March 13, hitting an officer in the leg. Walker testified that he did not hear police identify themselves and was worried that Glover or another intruder was trying to break into the home. Police returned fire, striking Taylor, who was unarmed, five times. She died in her hallway.
Former LMPD Detective Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment, a Class D felony (which can result in up to five years in jail), for bullets that went through Taylor's apartment and into another occupied apartment in her building. He fired his gun 10 times. A judge set Hankison’s bail at $15,000, and he was bonded out later that afternoon.
Hankison was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in June for his actions during the raid.
“The loss of Ms. Breonna Taylor’s life is a tragedy, and our office has worked tirelessly since receiving the case in mid-May to review all of the evidence in preparation for presenting it to an independent Grand Jury,” said Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron in a statement. “The Grand Jury determined that there is no evidence to support a criminal violation of state law caused Ms. Taylor’s death. The Grand Jury found that there was sufficient evidence to indict Detective Hankison for wanton endangerment for firing his weapon outside a sliding glass door and through a bedroom window, with some bullets traveling through that apartment and entering the apartment next door while three residents were at home.”
None of the other officers involved — including Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who the Kentucky AG says "was the first, and only officer, to enter the residence," or Detective Myles Cosgrove, who FBI analysis concluded fired the shot that killed Taylor — were indicted for Taylor's death.
Ben Crump, the attorney for Taylor's family, called the decision "outrageous and offensive."
With all we know about Breonna Taylor’s killing... how could a fair and just system result in today’s decision? (2 of 2) pic.twitter.com/POZ56uHzAO
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 23, 2020
That indictment — and lack of others — didn't sit well with the public, with protestors taking to the streets across the nation, from Portland, Oregon and Atlanta to Louisville and Cincinnati.
According to the AP, 127 people were arrested in Louisville last night after police say they damaged businesses, jumped on vehicles belonging to the city that were being used as barricades and for curfew and unlawful assembly violations. (In anticipation of the Grand Jury's decision not to hold any of the officers responsible for Taylor's death, Wednesday morning Mayor Greg Fischer issued a 72-hour curfew between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.)
Two Louisville police officers were also shot around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday night during the protests and the FBI is asking for information about the individuals who shot them. Both officers are expected to survive and Interim LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder says one suspect is in custody.
Earlier this month, the City of Louisville issued a $12 million settlement in a wrongful death suit filed by Taylor's family — the highest amount ever paid by the city, according to the mayor's office. The settlement also contained several reforms to be adopted by the LMPD including offering housing credits to incentivize officers to live in the neighborhoods they serve, involving social workers on certain cases and making it a requirement for commanders to review and approve search warrants before judicial approval.
During his press briefing about the Grand Jury's decision, Gov. Andy Beshear said, "Systematic racism exists here, in this country, and in our Commonwealth."
He continued, saying, “I am committed to building a more just and equitable commonwealth for our people, and in honor of Breonna Taylor and her family. My prayer is we can work together to achieve a better world, that I can continue to listen, hear and have the courage to do what’s necessary to create justice and move forward, and that all of us — all of us — can come together to move closer to the world Breonna calls us to create.”
He also called on Attorney General Cameron to release the full facts and evidence of the investigation to the public.
In his statement issued Wednesday, Cameron's office released this regarding the case:
In the early morning hours of March 13, Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Brett Hankison, and Detective Myles Cosgrove executed a search warrant at the home of Ms. Breonna Taylor. The officers were advised by superiors to knock and announce their presence in serving this specific search warrant.
Evidence from SPU’s investigation shows that officers both knocked and announced their presence at the apartment. The officer’s statements about their announcement are corroborated by an independent witness who was near in proximity to Ms. Taylor’s apartment.
When officers were unable to get anyone to answer or open the door to the apartment, the decision was made to breach the door. After breaching the door, Sergeant Mattingly was the first, and only officer, to enter the residence. Sergeant Mattingly identified two individuals standing beside one another at the end of the hall, a male and female. In his statement, he says that the male was holding a gun, arms extended, in a shooting stance. Mattingly saw the man’s gun fire, heard a “boom,” and immediately knew he was shot as a result of feeling heat in his upper thigh.
Mr. Kenneth Walker fired the shot that hit Sergeant Mattingly, and there is no evidence to support that Sergeant Mattingly was hit by friendly fire from the other officers. Mr. Walker admitted that he fired one shot and was the first to shoot. In addition to all the testimony, the ballistics report shows that the round that struck Sergeant Mattingly was fired from a nine-millimeter handgun. The LMPD officers fired 40 caliber handguns.
Sergeant Mattingly returned fire down the hallway. Mattingly fired six shots. Almost simultaneously, Detective Cosgrove, also in the doorway area, shot sixteen times. This all took place in a matter of seconds.
In total, six bullets struck Ms. Taylor. Medical evidence in the case shows that only one shot was fatal. Further medical evidence shows that Ms. Taylor would have died from the fatal shot within seconds to two minutes after being struck.
Detective Hankison fired his weapon 10 times—including from outside a sliding glass door and through a bedroom window. Some bullets traveled through apartment four and into apartment three, before some exited that apartment. At the time, three residents of apartment three were at home, including a male, a pregnant female, and a child.
There is no conclusive evidence that any bullets fired from Detective Hankison’s weapon struck Ms. Taylor.
The KSP ballistics analysis did not identify which of the three officers fired the fatal shot. The FBI Crime Lab was asked to conduct an analysis to see if their analysis reached the same results. The FBI ballistics analysis concluded that the fatal shot was fired by Detective Cosgrove.
SPU looked at both reports to determine if there were major differences in the procedures used by each lab that would have led the FBI to identify who fired the fatal shot. Both law enforcement agencies used similar equipment and analysis, but issued different findings.
The investigation found that Sergeant Mattingly and Detective Cosgrove were justified in their use of force, after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker. Secondary to this justification, the KSP and FBI ballistics analysis reached different conclusions, creating a reasonable doubt in the evidence about who fired the fatal shot.