In Louisville, Relief and Regret After Ex-Officer’s Conviction in Breonna Taylor Case
The New York Times
After a jury found that a former police detective used excessive force in the 2020 raid that killed Ms. Taylor, residents expressed both hope for police reform and reservations about the verdict.
Four years ago, thousands of demonstrators would squeeze into Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville, Ky., to remember Breonna Taylor. They marched, they chanted, they gathered for vigils. Police officers broke up crowds with flash bang grenades. It was the epicenter for racial justice protests in the city.
On Saturday, less than 24 hours after a jury convicted a former Louisville police officer of excessive force in the botched raid that killed Ms. Taylor, the park was empty. But one woman sitting across the street had not forgotten about her.
“I’m glad the family finally got justice,” said Rocqual Pickett, a lifelong resident of Louisville who was waiting for a bus. “It was a long time coming.”
There were no raucous rallies to be found in Louisville on Saturday, only quieter reflections. But Ms. Taylor was still on the minds of many residents, whose reactions to the verdict — the first conviction of an officer who was directly involved in the raid — ranged from relief for Ms. Taylor’s family to empathy for the police.
The convicted former detective, Brett Hankison, who is white, fired 10 shots through the apartment of Ms. Taylor, a Black 26-year-old emergency room technician, in March 2020. Those shots did not kill Ms. Taylor. Two other officers, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, both also white, fired the fatal shots but were never charged. Prosecutors said that they had been justified in their actions.
Mr. Hankison’s use of deadly force “was unlawful and put Ms. Taylor in harm’s way,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement after the verdict was announced on Friday.
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