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Breonna Taylor: Police officer charged over fatal shooting

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Media caption“Questions still aren’t answered”: Breonna Taylor’s family are worried about a “cover-up”

A grand jury has charged one police officer over the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor at her home in the US state of Kentucky.

Ms Taylor, 26, a hospital emergency room technician, was shot multiple times during a police raid on 13 March.

Her death has become a rallying cry for anti-racism protesters, who have called for the three officers involved to be arrested and charged.

Officials earlier agreed to pay her family $12m (£9.3m) in a settlement.

Brett Hankison has been charged with three counts of “wanton endangerment” over the shooting.

He was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in June after investigators found he had “wantonly and blindly fired 10 rounds” into the apartment, according to his termination letter.

The other two officers who discharged their weapons that night – Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove – have not been charged.

What happened to Ms Taylor?

Ms Taylor was at home in Louisville on 13 March when police officers entered her apartment shortly after midnight, her family says.

Narcotics officers raided her home and used a battering ram to take her front door off its hinges. No drugs were found on her property and Ms Taylor had no criminal record.

Police were acting on a controversial type of search warrant – known as a “no-knock” warrant – that allows police to enter a home without warning. Police claim they knocked and announced themselves before entering, but Ms Taylor’s family and a neighbour have disputed this.

Image copyright Facebook
Image caption Taylor, a decorated emergency medical technician, was 26 when she died

At the time, Ms Taylor was in bed with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker, a licensed gun owner, according to her family. Hearing the commotion, Mr Walker believed people were trying to break into the apartment and he later told police he fired one shot of his pistol.

Officials say Mr Walker’s bullet struck a police officer, Jonathan Mattingly, in the leg – an injury for which he later required surgery.

Mr Mattingly and two other officers, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, returned fire and shot more than 20 rounds. Mr Walker wasn’t wounded but Ms Taylor was hit multiple times and died in the hallway of her apartment, lawyers for her family said.

The subsequent police report contained numerous errors, including listing Ms Taylor’s injuries as “none” and saying no force was used to enter, when a battering ram had been used.

Mr Walker was initially charged with attempted murder and assault of a police officer, but the case against him was dropped in May amid national scrutiny of the case.

Click Here to Visit Orignal Source of Article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-54273317

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