Say Her Name

 The Grand Jury in Kentucky indicted one police officer. Not for murdering Breonna Taylor, but for three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree. Brett Hankison was fired from the Louisville police department. The other two officers, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, kept their jobs. After the investigation it was determined that the only charges to be filed would be those against Hankison. 

Not for the five bullets that killed Breonna Taylor, but the other fifteen that flew around the apartment and into neighboring apartments. Somewhere in here is the implicit message that murder is not a punishable offense in Louisville, but bad aim is. This is not to make light of the situation, but rather outrage at the tiny minds that seem to be involved. A young woman, a front-line emergency room technician, was shot and killed in her bed by police who entered her home in a no-knock raid in which they expected to find illegal drugs. Once the smoke cleared, no drugs were found. Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, initially faced criminal charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer. Officer Mattingly was injured in the blur of violence that occurred in the apartment. He was shot in the leg. Once. 

Breonna Taylor, who did not have a gun in this scene, was shot five times. In the back. She lost her job. She lost her life. Her family lost a sister and a daughter. They have been awarded twelve million dollars for their loss by the City of Louisville. That offer was made two weeks in advance of the Grand Jury's decision. Can you put a price tag on justice?

At this moment in time, the words "Grand Jury" just bring a pain in my head. I do not expect good news when I hear that a Grand Jury is investigating the loss of Black Lives. I expect frustration, sadness, disappointment. I do not expect justice. Evidence that points directly to the murder of Breonna Taylor was seemingly cast aside in order to preserve the status quo. Brett Hankison was released on $15,000 bond. Breonna Taylor's death certificate, issued by the City of Louisville, said that the cause was homicide. Since I am not a lawyer nor a member of a Grand Jury, I looked that term up. Homicide is "the deliberate and unlawful killing of one person by another; murder." Not wanton endangerment. You can get up to five years per count of first degree wanton endangerment. I am not, as previously mentioned, a lawyer nor do I play one on TV. I do know that "up to" is the tricky part of that sentence. It would mean that the case actually goes to trial and one of three officers who shot up Breonna Taylor's apartment could get "up to" fifteen years in jail. 

For wanton policing. 

I am sad, angry, and disgusted. 

We all should be. 

For Breonna Taylor.