Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden is reacting to a Louisville grand jury’s decision to indict only one police officer in Breonna Taylor’s case, who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers in her home on March 13. The officer was charged with wanton endangerment, but not directly related to Taylor’s death.
“Breonna Taylor was a beloved daughter, member of her community, and an essential worker who served as an E.M.T. as COVID-19 began to spread. But she died, shot in her own home by the police,” Biden said in a statement on Wednesday.
He said that he is mourning with Taylor’s family and questioned if “justice could be equally applied in America.”
The former vice president declared that Wednesday’s decision by a Louisville grand jury to indicate one of the three police officers involved in the case “does not answer that call” of justice.
His statement continued:
“A federal investigation remains ongoing, but we do not need to wait for the final judgment of that investigation to do more to deliver justice for Breonna. We know what is necessary.”
Biden listed out things that need to be addressed such as “excessive force, banning chokeholds, and overhauling no-knock warrants.”
He then added that he understands Americans are frustrated and they have the right to peacefully protest but he condemned violence as “never acceptable.”
“We must continue to speak Breonna Taylor’s name, support her family still in grieving, and never give up on ensuring the full promise of America for every American,” he said.
Biden also spoke out on violence and protests when speaking to reporters, “Do not sully her memory or her mother’s by engaging in any violence.”
Joe Biden on Breonna Taylor protests: “Do not sully her memory or her mother's by engaging in any violence." https://t.co/Dc0dfQJE1P pic.twitter.com/5rSQit17oq
— The Hill (@thehill) September 24, 2020
We must continue to speak Breonna Taylor’s name, support her family still in grieving, and never give up on ensuring the full promise of America for every American. https://t.co/KJU21tQq4B
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 24, 2020
Taylor’s family responded to the decision by a Louisville grand jury, as the attorney who represents the family wrote on Twitter, “Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive!”
The attorney, Benjamin Crump, continued, “If Brett Hankison’s behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor’s apartment too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!”
President Donald Trump was asked by a reporter during Wednesday’s press conference about the decision, to which he said Attorney General of Kentucky Daniel Cameron is a “star” and is “doing a fantastic job.”
He then read the attorney general’s statement, saying justice “answers only to the facts and to the law.”