Two officers cleared of killing black woman
THE US was last night braced for further civil unrest after two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a black woman in her home were cleared.
A grand jury opted to charge just one officer over the death of Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, but others involved were not indicted.
The decision came almost 200 days since the 26- year- old hospital emergency room technician was shot eight times during a botched police investigation that targeted a drug dealer who lived 10 miles away.
Breonna and her boyfriend were asleep when police burst into her home and opened fire. Yesterday Louisville Metro Police Department officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment.
He was fired from the force in June after investigators found he had “wantonly and blindly fired 10 rounds” into the apartment, according to his termination letter.
Taylor’s death along with that of George Floyd has become a rallying cry for anti- racism protesters, who had called for the three officers to be charged. Officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were not charged, and no homicide or manslaughter charges were brought.
Last week officials announced they were to pay Taylor’s family £ 9.3million in a settlement over her death. Wanton endangerment carries a maximum prison sentence of up to five years. Hankison was given £ 12,000 bail.