Louisville erupts as cops escape Breonna Taylor charges

Violent clashes in Louisville amid fury about decision not to charge officers directly with Breonna Taylor’s shooting death.

A demonstrator is detained during protests in Louisville, Kentucky. Picture; AFP.

Violence erupted in Louisville, Kentucky, on Thursday between police and protesters amid fury about the decision not to charge policemen directly with the shooting death of African-American Breonna Taylor.

Two Louisville officers were shot during the clashes and a suspect was in custody. The officers’ injuries were “not life-threatening”, Louisville interim police chief Robert Schroeder said.

Protesters also took to the streets in New York, Portland, and Seattle, where 13 people were ­arrested.

The 26-year-old Taylor was shot dead in her bed in a botched drug raid in March after police burst into the apartment where she was sleeping with her boyfriend.

Her death has been a focus of the Black Lives Matter movement, which has called for justice for Taylor, equating her death with the police killing of George Floyd in May that sparked nationwide protests.

But on Thursday (AEST), a Kentucky grand jury said no charges would be laid against two of the three officers who stormed the apartment and fired shots.

State Attorney-General Daniel Cameron said the fact Taylor’s boyfriend fired shots at the intruders, not knowing they were police, meant the police were en­titled to fire back in self-defence.

Breonna Taylor, would have turned 27 on June 5.

“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by (officers Jonathan) Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,” he said.

“This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.”

A third officer involved in the raid, Brett Hankison, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment after he fired his gun 10 times into the wall of Taylor’s neighbour. The charges do not ­relate to Taylor’s death.

The Taylor family’s lawyer, Ben Crump, called the decision “outrageous” and “offensive”.

“Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former officer Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor,” he wrote. “This is outrageous and offensive! If Brett Hankison’s behaviour was wanton endangerment to people in neighbouring apartments, it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor’s apartment, too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!”

As soon as the grand jury’s ­decision was known, protesters gathered in the streets of Louisville, several violent clashes with police leading to the handcuffing of at least five protesters.

Police officers make arrests during protests in Louisville, Kentucky. Picture: AFP.

Local businesses in the city had boarded up their windows the previous day in anticipation of possible violent protests if the grand jury did not charge police with Taylor’s death. A three-day curfew was imposed in Louisville ­between 9pm and 6.30am in the hope of quelling violence.

Since her death, Taylor’s image has been painted on streets and protest signs as she became a nat­ional symbol for the BLM movement protesting police violence against blacks.

African-American celebrities including Oprah and Beyonce had joined those urging that the officers be charged.

The warrant used to search Taylor’s home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

Breonna Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer in front of a mural of her daughter at Jefferson Square park. Picture: AFP.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired at police when they burst into the flat but said he did not know who was entering the home and that he fired in self-defence.

He was initially charged with attempted murder of a police officer but the charges were dropped.

The police officers responded by firing 32 shots inside the apartment, killing Taylor on the spot.

An emotional Mr Cameron said: “Criminal law is not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief.

Kentucky Attorney-General Daniel Cameron at a press conference to announce a grand jury's decision to indict one of three Louisville Metro Police Department officers. Picture: AFP

“The decision before my office as the special prosecutor in this case was not to decide if the loss of Ms Taylor’s life was a tragedy. The answer to that is unequivocally yes,” he said.

National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People president and chief executive ­Derrick Johnson said the decision was “a national disgrace”.

“We must take this anger to the polls and vote,” he tweeted.

“If you’ve already voted, get your friends to vote. The only way to change the system is to overwhelm it. The justice system failed Breonna Taylor and, as such, failed us.”

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia