Six months after the fatal police shots of the African American woman Breonna Taylor, the US judiciary has indicted a police officer. The now dismissed officer is accused of negligent endangerment of the lives of others, as a judge in Louisville, Kentucky announced yesterday. It is a less serious crime than murder or manslaughter.
Shot in the apartment
Taylor was shot dead by white police officers in her own home on March 13 in Louisville. The plainclothes officers stormed the apartment during a nightly drug raid. Taylor’s friend, who was in bed with the 26-year-old paramedic, believed he was being robbed, opened fire with his gun and injured a police officer. Officials then fired their service weapons.
Taylor was killed by several police bullets, her boyfriend survived. The police officers were subsequently suspended, but initially not arrested and formally accused. One officer has been dismissed – he has now been charged.
Protests after decision
The indictment sparked outrage and protests. Protesters took to the streets in Louisville. There were clashes with the police and several people were arrested. According to the authorities, two police officers were shot.
Mayor Greg Fischer had imposed a state of emergency and a curfew for the night out of fear of riots. The police erected barricades in the city center, and shops and restaurants protected their glass facades with sheets of plywood.
The Taylor case had previously caused an uproar across the country. During the protests against racism and police violence against black people after the death of the African-American George Floyd in a brutal police operation at the end of May, Taylor’s picture was shown and her name was mentioned again and again. She is one of the symbolic figures of the „Black Lives Matter“ movement. In mid-September, Taylor’s family reached an agreement with the city of Louisville on a compensation payment of twelve million dollars (ten million euros).
