Everything But Justice: Accessing What’s Missing In The Breonna Taylor Verdict

Listening to Kentucky Attorney General, Daniel Cameron, on the grand jury findings lent itself to more questions than answers. As a Police Procedure and Use of Force Expert, I question the depth of investigation that was done in this matter. I question when were Louisville Police Department (LPD) Officers Jon Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove interviewed as to their involvement in the shooting.

Were they interviewed on the morning of March 14, 2020, or were they interviewed days or weeks later for them to get their story together? What was actually presented to the grand jury for them not to render an indictment in the death of Ms. Taylor at the hands of Officers Mattingly and Cosgrove and just to indict Officer Hankison on multiple counts of wanton endangerment? What was the ethnic makeup of the Deputy Attorney General prosecutors who presented the case before the grand jury? What was the ethnic makeup of the grand jury?

The elephant in the room is how can the city of Louisville find the killing of Breonna Taylor at the hands of LPD Officers Mattingly and Cosgrove so egregious that they offered a settlement of $12 million to the family of Ms. Taylor, fired Officer Hankison for his egregious conduct in the shooting, come up with nine points of reform, which are at most not reform but new policy statements for LPD, and not indict these officers for the killing of Ms. Taylor.

It is my opinion that justice in the killing of Breonna Taylor was on an unauthorized leave of absence. This outcome is very problematic and begs for independent expert analysis and transparency.