Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced on Wednesday that a Jefferson County Grand Jury did not indict the Louisville police officers involved in the March 13, 2020, shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
The grand jury did indict former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Detective Brett Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, a class D felony, for firing 10 shots blindly from outside Taylor’s apartment. Several of Hankison’s bullets entered an apartment adjacent to Taylor’s residence where three people — a male, a pregnant female and a child — were asleep. There was “no conclusive” evidence that any of Hankison’s bullets struck Taylor, Cameron said. Hankison was terminated in June by interim LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder.
Hankison was arrested and booked into the Shelby County Detention Center and released about 30 minutes later after posting a $15,000 bond.
“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,” Cameron said. “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.”
Cameron’s investigation showed that Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove were justified in their use of force, after having been fired upon by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. Mattingly was struck in the leg by a shot fired by Walker, who thought someone was breaking into the apartment.
Walker, 27, who was legally armed, was initially arrested but the charges were later dropped.
Mattingly and Cosgrove, in response to Walker firing his weapon, returned 19 shots in a matter of seconds, according to Cameron, with six shots striking the 26-year-old Taylor during the early morning drug raid, where no drugs or indications of drug trafficking were found. Only one of the shots was fatal, investigators said.
Also at Wednesday’s announcement, Cameron said he will create a task force to review the process for securing, reviewing, and executing search warrants in Kentucky. The task force will include elected leaders, citizens, law enforcement representatives, members of the judiciary, defense attorneys, and others.
“Conducting a top to bottom review of the search warrant process is necessary to allow input on the current system and determine if changes are required,” Cameron said. “This is a necessary step for our law enforcement, citizens, and elected leaders to take together, and I look forward to leading this important discussion.”
Earlier this month, the city of Louisville settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Taylor’s family for $12 million.
The FBI continues to investigate the shooting.
(Photo of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron courtesy of the Associated Press)
By Ken Howlett, News Director
Contact Ken at ken@k105.com
