Breonna Taylor's family condemns 'sham proceeding' as over 100 arrested in Louisville protests
The family of Breonna Taylor have condemned the “sham proceedings” in which no officers were charged for the black woman’s death, sparking protests that have seen more than 100 arrests in Louisville overnight
Speaking to NBC Today on Thursday, family lawyer Ben Crump said “nothing seems to say Breonna mattered,” adding that the Kentucky grand jury carried-out a “sham proceeding that did nothing to give Breonna Taylor a voice."
The verdict, delivered on Wednesday, led to protests in Louisville, Kentucky, overnight, where police arrested 127 people involved in demonstrations.
Campaigners had spent months calling for justice for 26-year-old Taylor, who was fatally shot during a drug raid on her home in March that was carried-out at the wrong address.
Prosecutors argued that two officers involved in the raid who fired their weapons at Taylor were acting in self-defence, after her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, had fired warning shots as police entered their home.
Mr Crump dismissed that finding on Thursday, adding that charges of wanton endangerment did not make sense either.
“When you think about [it] - they had wanton endangerment for the white neighbour’s apartment, the bullets going there - not for the bullets going into Breonna Taylor’s body,” he told NBC.
“Nor did they have wanton endangerment for the bullets that went into the black neighbour’s apartment above Breonna,” continued Mr Crump.
“It underscores what I've said many times. We seem to have two justice systems in America, one for Black America and one for white America.”
The jury on Wednesday changed one officer with wanton endangerment, Brett Hankison, who shot into a White neighbor's apartment during the drug raid.
It is the lowest of four classes of felonies in Kentucky, carrying a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment, leading to calls for more serious charges.
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A timeline of events related to the death of Breonna Taylor
