One officer is facing charges in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, but the charge isn’t murder.
A grand jury announced that Officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in connection to the police raid on the night of March 13.
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What is wanton endangerment?
According to the state of Kentucky, it is defined as:
“A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.”
The law has been in place in 1975.
According to Kentucky law firm Ron Aslam, first-degree wanton endangerment is a Class D felony, punishable with fines of up to $10,000 and up to five years in prison.
Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by officers who entered her home using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville’s Metro Council.