After months of nationwide protests, petitions signed by millions, and widespread calls on social media for their arrest, the three police officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor were not charged for her death in Wednesday's grand jury decision in Kentucky.
One officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting a bullet through the wall into a neighbor's apartment. None of the three people living in the neighboring apartment were injured.
Moments after the decision was announced, people reacted online with grief, anger, heartbreak, and hopelessness. Rather than shock, there was a crushing sense of inevitability regarding the lack of action.
It's like I knew there would be no Justice for Breonna Taylor from the same system that murdered her. And yet here I am still infuriated.
They never get it right and that doesn't make it hurt any less. Breonna Taylor should still be with us and her family deserved justice today. Tired of this shit.
Many noted the painful realization that the only charges had nothing to do with Taylor being killed.
A literal wall got more justice than Breonna Taylor https://t.co/nzBohm4WU5
The state of Kentucky deemed the lives of Breonna Taylor’s neighbors to be worth more than her own. Let that sink in.
When we talk about the erasure of Black Women, this is Exhibit A. Literally the charges could’ve been the same if #BreonnaTaylor’s bedroom had been empty. The Grand Jury didn’t just decide that Breonna didn’t matter; they decided that she didn’t exist. #SheWillRise https://t.co/rXYkhscNBu
the buildings next door got more justice than breonna did
The decision has been decried by activists and celebrities.
God bless Breonna’s family and all who knew and loved her. Her tragic death compounded by the violence of silence and inaction by the city she called home is more than any of them should have to endure. https://t.co/fcDmIWHlDS
"To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a state of rage almost all of the time." James Baldwin. #BreonnaTaylor
Praying for Breonna’s mother and family. Because they knew and loved her before her name became a hashtag.
What is most insulting is that the recommended charges aren't even in response to the MURDER of Breonna Taylor, but to the POTENTIAL injury of other people in the apartment.....
This is a sad day for America and for justice. Today, no one was truly charged for Breonna Taylor's murder, and her family deserves much better. This is again why elections matter, not just for president. We must vote up and down the ballot by November 3rd. Black Lives Matter.
I’ve been lost for words today! I’m devastated, hurt, sad, mad! We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbors apartment walls and not her beautiful life. Was I surprised at the verdict. Absolutely not but damnit I was & still am hurt and heavy hearted! I send
The most DISRESPECTED person on earth is THE BLACK WOMAN! I promise you I’ll do my best to change this as much as I can and even more!! LOVE to you QUEENS all over this country and beyond! 👸🏽👸🏾👸🏿❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
And many are taking it as further proof that if the system protected the officers from being punished, it's broken and radical change is needed.
A system that allowed Breonna Taylor to be murdered in the first place is never going to punish itself. We have to disarm, defund, and dismantle police so it never even gets to that point.
It’s so fucked up and infuriating that Breonna couldn’t get justice. The morality of our systems are broken, but the reality is that they are working exactly how they are supposed to. To suppress the rights of marginalized people and uplift corrupt establishments.
We know how the system works. That's why it's abolish the police.