A grand jury for Jefferson County, Kentucky, under the supervision of Judge Annie O’Connell on September 23, 2020 indicted Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of Wanton Endangerment. Of 6 shots, 1 was fatal, and it was fired by Officer Myles Cosgrove. Moving forward, Daniel Cameron will take Hankinson’s case to trial.
That is all.
The other officers, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly — absolutely nothing. They were not indicted with any crime. Of the three officers involved with the slaughter of Breonna Taylor, Brett Hankison was the only officer terminated from Louisville Metro Police Department due to his blind firing into (here, there, and everywhere) Breonna Taylor’s apartment.
The icing on the cake, however, is that Brett Hankison’s indictment has no mention of Breonna Taylor — it is unrelated to Breonna Taylor’s murder. Hankison was indicted on three counts of Wanton Endangerment not because he wantonly endangered Breonna Taylor or Kenneth Walker but because he wantonly endangered Breonna Taylor’s neighbors with the initials: CF, CN, and ZF.
Yes, you read that correctly.
In Kentucky, “a person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.” Wanton Endangerment is a class D felony and is therefore punishable (if found guilty by a jury) for “not less than one (1) year nor more than five (5) years.”
In a press conference following the grand jury announcement, Attorney General Daniel Cameron explained that homicide charges were not applicable because the officers were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker — an American man who stood his ground to an unknown intruder.
Rest in Peace, Breonna.
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