A grand jury in Kentucky decided on Wednesday (Sept. 23) to indict one police officer with charges that do not address the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT who was killed in her Louisville, Ky. home on March 13.
Former Louisville Detective Brett Hankison, who was fired in June, now faces three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, a Class D felony in the state of Kentucky “when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person,” according to state law.
USA Today reported that while reading the charges, Judge Annie O’Connell said Hankison “wantonly shot a gun” into three apartments, of which those occupants were identified by their initials. But the initials “BT” for Breonna Taylor were not read, meaning the jury did not find Hankison to have wantonly shot in her apartment. The two other officers involved, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, were not indicted.
Alicia Keys, Common, Kirk Franklin, Ella Mai and more artists took to Twitter to express their frustration and distress over the Kentucky grand jury’s decision that dismisses Taylor.
See the stars’ reactions below.
This is is a PRIME example of Rotten to the CORE!!! UnJust!!!! Disrespectful and BLATANT DISREGARD!!!! Infuriated!!!!!!! https://t.co/TWVeV8Q3rp
— Alicia Keys (@aliciakeys) September 23, 2020
Amen 🙏🏽 shit is sooo sad and discouraging. https://t.co/2ex3OImFpv
— iamcardib (@iamcardib) September 23, 2020
I don’t have the words. #BreonnaTaylor and her family deserve justice. https://t.co/1Vu1zwetVi
— Mandy Moore (@TheMandyMoore) September 23, 2020
No. Officers. Charged. In. The. Killing. Of. #BreonnaTaylor.
One. Was. Charged. For. Endangering. But. NOT. Killing. Her. Neighbors. #MakeMeWannaHollerAndThrowUpBothMyHands. https://t.co/1khlfDlBv7
— yvette nicole brown (@YNB) September 23, 2020
NO JUSTICE NO PEACE
— TINASHE ³³³ (@Tinashe) September 23, 2020
Paying the family off with a settlement & charging the cop who killed #BreonnaTaylor with a Class D felony isn’t good enough. What else is a class D felony in Louisville: shoplifting, cultivating marijuana, stealing mail. Let that sink in. Shame on you Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron https://t.co/PA2czbEwS2
— Aly & AJ (@alyandaj) September 23, 2020
Yes. Her mother’s child. My heart goes out to Tamika Palmer, who has to be reminded, again and again, that her “baby won’t be coming through that door.” #BreonnaTaylor https://t.co/HZ2AOGjq8G
— Oprah Winfrey (@Oprah) September 23, 2020
THIS. https://t.co/qhUF3dYgLV
— COMMON (@common) September 23, 2020
— COMMON (@common) September 23, 2020
#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor#JusticeForBreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/eURn5iMQrl
— COMMON (@common) September 23, 2020
https://twitter.com/common/status/1308838198349639681?s=20
Sad day……#BreonnaTaylor
— Kirk Franklin (@kirkfranklin) September 23, 2020
my heart is broken for the family of Breonna Taylor. once again we’re left with nothing that they try to make seem as something 💔
— Ella Mai (@ellamai) September 23, 2020
Im sick. https://t.co/0F7VWBOtwi
— PRELUDE (@LaurenJauregui) September 23, 2020
I see the system won’t fight for you, so WE gotta fight for you 🙏🏾#BreonnaTaylor
— Sean Don (@BigSean) September 23, 2020