Officer Brett Hankison charged with wanton endangerment; two officers shot during protests

Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys for the family of Breonna Taylor, said the Wednesday decision by a grand jury to not indict Louisville police officers in her death was the equivalent of killing her again.

“It’s just heartbreaking. It’s like killing Breonna all over again,” Crump told CNN’s Don Lemon, saying the family was “outraged” over the decision. “Legalized genocide of people of color, because no matter how much evidence we have, they always find a way to try to legally justify it.”

Hours after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) announced no officers would be indicted in her death, Crump characterized the grand jury proceeding as “outrageous.” One officer was charged with “wanton endangerment,” accused of firing recklessly into a neighboring apartment.

CHICAGO — As three protests in downtown and the South Side ended, a fourth on the North Side was just getting started.

About 300 people marched north on California Avenue to protest a Louisville grand jury’s decision not to indict officers in Breonna Taylor’s death. They stopped in front of the 14th Police District headquarters, which was lined for a full block with police on the sidewalk. Protesters on foot and bike yelled into the faces of police officers for about 30 minutes until the march continued north up Milwaukee Avenue toward Logan Square, where Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) lives on a residential street.

Asked about the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, Joe Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, said he understood there would be protests after the grand jury’s decision not to indict officers in her death.

Assured that there were indeed demonstrations, Biden said, “Well, they should be peaceful,” according the pool report. “Do not sully her memory or her mother’s by engaging in any violence. It’s totally inappropriate for that to happen. She wouldn’t want it, nor would her mother, so I hope they do that.”

PORTLAND, Ore. — More than 300 demonstrators blocked off the street in front of the Portland Police Bureau’s headquarters Wednesday night, shouting Breonna Taylor’s name and proclaiming, “Black lives matter.”

The demonstration took place despite a cold rain that drenched protesters. Portland has seen nearly four months of protests since the death of George Floyd, a string broken when smoke from wildfires made outdoor activities hazardous.

Videos posted to social media also showed crowds gathering in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center, including a drum line playing to the chants of, “Whose life mattered? Breonna Taylor!”

Top Democrats decried the decision by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron (R) to charge only one officer involved in Breonna Taylor’s shooting, and not for her death, calling it another example of the systemic injustice faced by Black Americans.

“Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) interrupted as a previously planned segment on MSNBC wrapped up Wednesday afternoon. “Say her name.”

Pelosi and other congressional leaders also used the moment to call for police reform and an overhaul of the criminal justice system.

Two Louisville officers were shot Wednesday night about 8:30 p.m. as they responded to shots fired in the area of a large crowd, police said.

Both officers are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries, said Robert Schroeder, the interim chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department. One officer is alert, he said at a news conference, while another is undergoing surgery, and a suspect is in custody.

“I am very concerned about the safety of our officers,” Schroeder said.

Police said in a Facebook post that the shooting unfolded as they responded to protests that erupted in the city after the Kentucky attorney general announced that no police officers would be charged for the death of Breonna Taylor. One former police officer was charged with “wanton endangerment,” accused of firing recklessly into a neighboring apartment.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) urged Wednesday night for protesters throughout the state angry that no police officer would be charged in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor to “go home” after two Louisville police officers were shot amid rising tensions in the city.

“I’m asking everybody, please go home. Go home tonight,” Beshear said in a video statement posted to Twitter. “There will be many times over the coming days where there will be an opportunity to be heard.”

The governor’s plea came shortly after police confirmed that two officers were in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries. Robert Schroeder, the interim chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, said at a news conference that a suspect is in custody.

Before two Louisville police officers were reported shot, a crowd of protesters had amassed at Jefferson Square Park, the site of months-long demonstrations sparked by Taylor’s death, where they chanted and listened to speeches by organizers.

Around 7:45 p.m., after several small fires were set in trash cans, police declared the gathering an “unlawful assembly” and threatened to use chemical agents if protesters refused to clear the park.

Heeding the warning, several hundred protesters marched south, chanting, “Say her name!” and “Breonna Taylor!” as they wove through downtown Louisville.