Transcript:
It was not the justice many were waiting for tonight. One of the three officers in the Breonna Taylor case is facing charges, but no charges are directly connected to her death. Confusion, hurt, and anger over this decision are taking shape, as are demonstrations in Philadelphia, Louisville, and across the country.
To help us dive deeper into the charges, we have NBC 10 legal analyst Enrique Latoison. Enrique, why only first-degree wanton endangerment, which many have never heard of? Why was this the only charge chosen?
Enrique Latoison: Well, I think you want to start by saying that, in this particular case, the District Attorney did not do the charging here. The District Attorney could have filed charges directly and just gone ahead and charged all three officers. Instead, what the District Attorney did was turn it over to the grand jury. After reviewing the evidence, the grand jury decided to come back and basically say that what took place inside of Ms. Breonna Taylor’s home was not a crime. They stated this was justified; they said Mr. Walker shot first, and the officers were justified in their response.
However, they concluded that what took place with the bullets flying into other neighbors’ apartments was reckless, but only for one officer. So, two of the officers faced no charges whatsoever, and the one officer was not charged for what happened inside of Ms. Taylor’s property—only for the bullets that flew into other neighbors’ apartments.
Interviewer: The family and the public have waited a long time for this decision, Enrique. Today, we know Breonna’s death was months ago. Why does an investigation like this take so long?
Enrique Latoison: Well, we know in a case of high public significance, one that’s been in the media and talked about everywhere, it’s something that’s been going on for a while now. They took their time because they wanted to gather all their information and complete their investigation before submitting it to the grand jury. I will say that, in this particular matter, it was a bit surprising that this was the only charge.
At the end of the day, we live in a system where a jury gets to decide. However, in this case, the jury will not be able to decide on other charges such as negligent homicide or other charges that could have been brought directly by the District Attorney. Instead, they’re respecting what took place with the grand jury, which only returned a single charge – a Class D felony, with a minimum of one year to five years in general.
Interviewer: And we know the family is not pleased with that outcome. Enrique Latoison, thank you so much for your insights. We appreciate it.
Contact Enrique Latoison
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