ACLU of Kentucky: Commonwealth of Kentucky Denies Justice for Breonna Taylor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced today that LMPD Detective Brett Hankison has been charged with three counts of First-Degree Wanton Endangerment for shooting blindly into apartments neighboring Breonna Taylor’s. No charges were filed against LMPD Officers Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, nor were any of the charges against Detective Hankison directly related to Breonna Taylor’s death.
The following is a reaction from Michael Aldridge, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky:
“Today’s announcement is the latest miscarriage of justice in our nation’s long history of denying that Black lives matter. Once again, a prosecutor has refused to hold law enforcement accountable for killing a young Black woman. Breonna Taylor should still be alive today. We join the Taylor family and the community in protesting and mourning the Commonwealth’s choice to deny justice for Breonna.
Breonna Taylor was killed when plainclothes officers used a no-knock warrant to enter her home in the middle of the night. They did not even perform life-saving measures as she took her last breaths after they shot her five times. Throughout this tragic series of events, including today, the police and prosecutors continuously have failed Breonna Taylor, her family, and Black Kentuckians.
This outcome shows us that true police accountability does not exist in Kentucky. Police accountability will not exist until every level of government works to prevent police violence and hold law enforcement responsible every single time they abuse their power, not just in high profile cases.
The results of this investigation reflect insufficient standards for police use of force, government-sanctioned violence and terror in communities of color, and a need to completely rebuild our justice system.
The ACLU of Kentucky will continue working with community leaders, activists, and elected officials to radically change policing so this never happens again.”
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