*A Jefferson County grand jury has indicted a former Louisville police officer for wanton endangerment in the Breonna Taylor case.
On Wednesday (Sept. 23), former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, one of the three officers involved in the death, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment of the first degree. The charges stem from Hankison firing shots that hit other apartments in the raid, not Taylor.
His “actions displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he “wantonly and blindly fired ten (10) rounds” into Taylor’s apartment on March 13, then Police Chief Robert Schroeder wrote in the letter.
“The result of your action seriously impedes the Department’s goal of providing the citizens of our city with the most professional law enforcement agency possible,” he wrote. “I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Metro Police Department. Your conduct demands your termination.”
READ MORE: Officer Involved in Breonna Taylor Shooting Said ‘We Did the Ethical Thing That Night’
Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. 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. This is outrageous and offensive! pic.twitter.com/EarmBAhhuf
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) September 23, 2020
Taylor, 26, was shot eight times while sleeping in her bed with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when three plain clothes officers performed a no-knock arrest warrant at her Louisville apartment.
Three undercover Louisville officers, Hankison, Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, conducted an improper raid when they burst into Taylor’s home and fired at least 22 times, with bullets going into neighboring apartments, and “it was incredible that Mrs. Taylor was the only one killed,” said Rob Eggert, Walker’s defense attorney.
Taylor was shot several times and died. Hankson was fired more than three months after incident. The other two officers remain on the police force.
Mattingly sent a mass email to his department earlier this week, in which he defended his actions as well as slam Mayor Greg Fischer, Public Safety Chief Amy Hess, and former Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad, per Complex.
The message, addressed to his “LMPD family,” begins “I’m here to tell you I’m sorry you have to go through this…. I’m sorry for the Mayor, Amy Hess, and Chief Conrad failed us in epic proportions for their own gain and to cover their asses.”
He goes on to criticize protesters, whom he referred to as “thugs.”
“You DO NOT DESERVE to be in this position. The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell, curse, and degrade you. Throw bricks, bottles, and urine on you and expect you to do nothing … Your civil rights mean nothing, but the criminal has total autonomy.
According to The Daily Beast, Hankison will be held on $15,000 bond once arrested.
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