(Washington, D.C) — A Kentucky grand jury announced on Wednesday that former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison is the only officer who will be charged in connection with Breonna Taylor’s home invasion and death. Hankison will be charged with first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting into a neighbors’ apartment. The following is a statement from Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:
“Make no mistake white supremacy lays at the heart of today’s grand jury announcement. Racism has so weakened the justice process in our country that we are expected to take seriously the idea that no one is responsible for a Black woman’s death. Kentucky State Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s suggestion that the killing of Breonna Taylor while she was sleeping was justified is beyond the pale. She was shot six times and is no longer with us. Americans with moral decency find the charge wholly inadequate. Three officers—Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove must be held accountable for killing Breonna Taylor. This is a full-scale denial of justice.”
###
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommittee.org.
