SAN DIEGO — Outrage and disappointment were expressed Wednesday by some community activists in San Diego concerning the indictment of one officer in the Breonna Taylor case.
“It is actually shocking that an officer can be held to stand for firing into neighboring apartments but not the officer who actually fire fatal bullets into Breonna,” said attorney and community advocate Genevieve Jones-Wright.
A U.S. grand jury indicted former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson on three counts of wanton endangerment for the gunfire that went into neighboring apartments.
"I don't know how police officers can violate policy, procedures, and law in the Breonna case and not have any accountability," said community activist Tasha Williamson.
Williamson said the fact that no officers were charged in Taylor's death is disappointing but not surprising.
“For me, it's to be expected. And that's why we still fight and that's why we protest," she said.
San Diego NAACP President described her reaction to the grand jury decision as "shock, dismay, unhappiness."
"So the indictment is for other people that were in other apartments," she said. "It is so disheartening to a lot of members of the NAACP San Diego branch."
"If Breonna Taylor was not African American, if she was your Caucasian sister or your Latinx sister would this be allowed? No," Maxwell added.
Two local demonstrations got underway in downtown San Diego Wednesday night calling for justice for Breonna Taylor.
"People have to take to the streets and say 'Black Lives Matter' in order for justice to be pursued, and here we are six months later, and we see that the justice that had been delayed has now been denied indefinitely,” Jones-Wright said.
In the 191 days since the shooting death 26-year-old EMT Breonna Taylor, the officer who fired the fatal shot has not been charged. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that the use of deadly force was justified as officers were fired upon by Taylor's boyfriend. He has said officers did not identify themselves although the AG said they did.
“It was a little shocking to be quite honest with you, and for a lot of people, it feels like there was a gut punch,” Jones-Wright said.
Activists say body cam footage would have imperative in this case, but the Louisville Police Department did not have them. Jones-Wright said one reform from the tragedy is the Louisville Police Department has banned no-knock warrants in the city.
"We are concerned that our lives don't matter, and I think that is the underlying message of the Breonna Taylor killing, is that our lives do not matter in this justice system,” said Rev. Shane Harris of The People's Alliance for Justice.
In a civil wrongful death lawsuit filed by Taylor's family, the City of Louisville will pay $12 million.
"No compensation can pay for the murder of Breonna Taylor, this needed to be the compensation,” Harris said.
