LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Scripps/AP) — A grand jury has indicted a fired Kentucky police officer on criminal charges in the Breonna Taylor case — but not for her death. Brett Hankison was charged Wednesday with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the apartments of Taylor's neighbors. Taylor was shot multiple times by officers who burst into her home on March 13 during a narcotics investigation.
Louisville prepares for potential unrest after announcement
Ahead of the attorney general’s announcement, Mayor Greg Fischer signed two executive orders.
One order declared a state of emergency due to the potential for civil unrest. The other restricts access to downtown parking garages and bans on-street parking in order to provide an extra layer of security for protests in and around Jefferson Park, where many protests over the case have taken place.
The mayor has also set a curfew in the city from 9:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. ET
What we know about the Breonna Taylor case
Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers who served a no-knock search warrant at her home in the early morning hours of March 13.
During the incident, Taylor’s boyfriend has said that he thought the plainclothes officers were intruders and fired a warning shot. The officers returned fire, shooting Taylor several times, and she died in the hallway of her apartment.
In June, the Louisville Metro Police Department fired one of the officers involved, Brett Hankison, saying he violated procedures by showing "extreme indifference to the value of human life." The other two officers involved in the case, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, have been placed on administrative reassignment, WLEX reports.
Protesters across the state have said these actions are not enough and have continuously called for the arrest of the officers involved in Taylor's shooting.
Taylor is one of a handful of African Americans who have died at the hands of police officers or former police officers in 2020. The killings prompted massive protests calling for an end to police brutality across the country.
Jordan Mickle at WLEX contributed to this report.
