An American former agent has been acquitted in the only lawsuit involving Breonna Taylor (26). The black woman was shot and killed in Louisville during a drug raid nearly two years ago.
The officer was not prosecuted for her death, but for endangering her neighbors. The judge has now decided that Hankinson was not guilty of this. In the Taylor case, 45-year-old Hankison, a white man, was on trial because his bullets hit another home in the apartment complex.
The deaths of Taylor, George Floyd and other black Americans from police brutality sparked Black Lives Matter protests worldwide in 2020 against racism.
Under fire
Taylor was in bed unarmed when officers broke into her home at night without warning. The police were looking for her ex-boyfriend. Her new boyfriend fired a shot because he thought there was a break-in. An officer was injured. The police then fired back. Hankison fired ten shots because he thought his colleagues were under heavy fire. The officers were later fired.
Taylor’s next of kin had filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Louisville. This was settled and the family received compensation of 12 million dollars (converted 10.9 million euros). Police reforms were also promised, including stricter search warrant rules.
Read more below the photo.
Fury
In December 2020, several Democratic politicians reacted angrily to the decision of the District Attorney in the US state of Kentucky to prosecute only one officer for the shooting of Breonna Taylor. Democratic House of Representatives leader Nancy Pelosi, among others, expressed her anger on MSNBC television. “Breonna Taylor, Breonna Taylor, Breonna Taylor, say her name!” Pelosi interrupted an MSNBC live broadcast where she spoke.
A large number of Hollywood stars were also angry about the decision. Viola Davis called the decision “bullshit” in a tweet and Mandy Moore said: “I have no words for this. Breonna Taylor and her family deserve justice.” Mia Farrow tweeted: ‘So no one is responsible for Breonna Taylor’s death?’ and Common shared quotes from civil rights activists such as James Baldwin, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X in a series of tweets.
Watch our news videos in the playlist below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.