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"Justice for Breonna": Under this motto, people have been demonstrating against police violence against black people for months
Photo: BRYAN WOOLSTON / REUTERS
About six months after the fatal police shots at Breonna Taylor in her own apartment, the US judiciary has indicted a police officer - but not because of the fatal shots.
The now dismissed officer Brett Hankison is accused of negligent endangerment of the lives of others, as the Attorney General of the state of Kentucky, Daniel Cameron, announced.
No charges will be brought against two other officers, it said.
Investigators concluded that the other two police officers were defending themselves, Cameron said.
The black Breonna Taylor's name had become a symbol of the movement against racism and police violence since her death in March.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents the Taylor family, tweeted of an "outrageous and insulting" judicial decision.
Protesters took to the streets in the city of Louisville, where Taylor was killed in March.
Mayor Greg Fischer had already declared a state of emergency the day before out of fear of riots.
The police erected barricades in the city center, and shops and restaurants protected their glass facades with sheets of plywood.
Shot in his own apartment
Taylor was shot dead by police at her home in March in Louisville, Kentucky.
Three plainclothes officers stormed the apartment in a nightly drug raid.
Taylor's friend, who was in bed with the 26-year-old paramedic, claimed to have believed in a robbery, fired a shot with his gun and injured an officer.
The three officers then fired their service weapons.
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There is a state of emergency in Louisville, Kentucky, and the mayor fears rioting
Photo: CARLOS BARRIA / REUTERS
According to Attorney General Cameron, Taylor was hit by six bullets, one of which was fatal.
Her friend was left unmolested.
The police fired a total of 32 shots.
The injured officer and the police officer standing next to him legitimately responded to Taylor's friend's shot with their own gunshots, Cameron said.
The third officer apparently did not hit Taylor himself, but several of his shots went into a neighboring apartment.
He is therefore accused of negligent endangering the lives of others in three cases.
Up to five years' imprisonment is available for each of these charges.
Worldwide outrage
The case caused outrage around the world.
During the protests against racism and police violence against black people after the death of the African American George Floyd in a brutal police operation at the end of May, Taylor's picture and her name were repeatedly shown.
Along with Floyd, she is one of the symbolic figures of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Celebrities such as the singer Beyoncé, presenter Oprah Winfrey, basketball star LeBron James and Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton called for justice for Taylor.
In mid-September, Taylor's family reached an agreement with the City of Louisville on $ 12 million in indemnity to settle the civil lawsuit.
In addition, an agreement provides for binding reforms to the police department in Louisville, Mayor Fischer said.
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hba / dpa / AFP
