Steve Kerr, Warriors players frustrated by lack of charges in Breonna Taylor case.
After the Warriors’ first practice of minicamp Wednesday, head coach Steve Kerr voiced frustration that no police officer has been charged in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
While Golden State was working out, news broke that a grand jury had indicted former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison for endangering Taylor’s neighbors by recklessly firing his gun during a raid on her apartment in March. Hankison was the only officer whose gunfire did not strike Taylor, and he is the only
one of the three officers who has been dismissed from the force.
Wednesday’s indictment of Hankison came after a monthlong investigation into the death of Taylor, a 26yearold emergencyroom technician who was shot at least five times by officers executing a search warrant. Protesters throughout the country have demanded nothing short of murder charges for all three officers.
“It’s just so demoralizing and so discouraging,” Kerr said. “I just keep thinking about the generation of American kids of any color. Is this the way we want to raise them? Is this the country we want to live in? It’s just so much violence. There’s so much shooting, and it comes in so many forms, whether it’s school shootings, vigilantism, police brutality or neighbor to neighbor.
“There’s just so much violence, and it’s demoralizing when we can’t be accountable or hold anyone to account for it. The really demoralizing thing is we have a really powerful movement that’s happening. We have so many people that care about this country, people who want change and believe in justice for Black and brown communities, yet we don’t have it. It’s such a tough hill to climb.”
Warriors guard Jordan Poole echoed Kerr’s sentiments, stressing the need to bring justice to the officers who killed Taylor.
“Those of us who are part of the African American community, it’s definitely unfair how we’re being treated, and the way things are going,” Poole said. “We need to be heard, and I know we won’t stop until something changes. Our ancestors have been fighting their entire lives to get us to the point where we are now.
“It’d be a slap in the face to them if we were to stop, so we’re just going to go as hard as we can. We need justice, especially for Breonna Taylor and Jacob Blake. We won’t stop until our voices are heard.” Blake was shot in the back by police in Wisconsin in August.
Warriors forward Eric Paschall, who missed Wednesday’s practice because he hasn’t completed the league’s coronavirus testing protocols, tweeted, “The fact that I am not surprised (about Wednesday’s news) scares me!” Shortly thereafter, Michele Roberts — executive director of the National Basketball Players Association — said in a statement, “Sadly, there was no justice today for Breonna Taylor.
“Her killing was the result of a string of callous and careless decisions made with a lack of regard for humanity, ultimately resulting in the death of an innocent and beautiful woman with her entire life ahead of her.”
Asked what reforms can be put in place to hold police officers accountable for killing unarmed Black people, Kerr said, “From a legal perspective, I don’t really know what reforms have to be made.
“From a human perspective, let’s actually take care of each other and look after one another. We’ve got to find a way to take a step forward in this country, and get away from this horrible cycle of violence that continues and that has been happening for so long. It’s a matter of humanity.”