SAN JOSE — Dozens of people gathered Wednesday evening in San Jose to protest a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge any police officers for their role in Breonna Taylor’s death in Louisville earlier this year.
The jury charged a single former officer, Brett Hankison, for shooting into neighboring apartments, a charge known as wanton endangerment.
Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by police officers who entered her home during a narcotics investigation on March 13. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found inside.
Protesters across the country have demanded justice for Taylor and other Black people killed by police in recent months, most notably George Floyd, who died after Minneapolis police kneeled on his back for almost nine minutes. Rallies have taken place in San Jose, Oakland, San Francisco and other Bay Area cities.
As of 5:30 p.m., about two dozen protesters had gathered outside San Jose City Hall. Among them was 25-year-old Daniel Barrena, who said he was disgusted the jury didn’t do more.
“It just shows that they’re not accountable at all to anyone,” said Barrena, waving a Zapatista flag in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. “There’s just going to be more protests and more riots until we get the justice we deserve. I just hope they don’t rubber bullet us tonight.”
For 29-year-old Srishti Prabha, the indictment of one officer is an example “of just how much political power police have in this country.”
“It’s unfortunate that Breonna Taylor’s family is not going to get the justice they wanted,” the San Jose resident continued. “This was a heinous crime and justice did not happen.”
In a letter to the Oakland community, Assistant City Administrator Ed Reiskin acknowledged the likelihood of a new round of demonstrations in that city.
“In light of the decisions by a Jefferson County, Kentucky grand jury and Kentucky’s Attorney General with regard to charging Louisville police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor, the City of Oakland is anticipating there may be demonstrations and protests in Oakland this week, and we are prepared to support any activities should they occur,” he said. “Oakland has continued and will continue to facilitate peaceful protests and expressions of outrage about social injustice and racial inequality.”
Social-media posts showed a rally called for 7 p.m. Wednesday evening at Lake Merritt.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when the officers burst in, hitting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly. Walker told police he heard knocking but did not know who was coming into the apartment and fired in self defense.
“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by (Officers Jonathan Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,” state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Wednesday while announcing the indictment. “This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.”
Cameron added: “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.”
The National Police Accountability Project condemned Cameron for not charging all three officers.
“It is not up to the Attorney General to exonerate these officers. His job is merely to determine if there is probable cause to charge them. Clearly there is in this case, as there has been in so many others,” said NPAP President Michael Avery in a statement. “The Attorney General should not be allowed to blame the grand jury for failing to indict more officers on more serious charges — if he had pushed for those indictments, he would have gotten them. It is time to begin holding police officers accountable to the criminal laws they are sworn to uphold.”
Hankison was fired from the Louisville Police Department on June 23. A termination letter sent to him by interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said the White officer had violated procedures by showing “extreme indifference to the value of human life” when he “wantonly and blindly” fired 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment.
On Sept. 15, Louisville settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylor’s mother, Tamika Parker, agreeing to pay her $12 million and enact police reforms.
Bay Area News Group staff writer Aldo Toledo and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
