WILMINGTON — Joe Biden said Wednesday that he believed the police officers involved in the shootings of Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor should be charged.
"I believe we should let the judicial system work its way. I do think there's a minimum need to be charged, the officers,” Biden said of Blake’s shooting. He added, “As well as with Breonna Taylor.”
Taking questions from reporters after a speech about school reopenings in Wilmington, Biden said he also believed the person responsible for the killing of a man during clashes in downtown Portland this past weekend should be investigated. The man who was killed, Aaron J. Danielson, was a member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, which had joined with supporters of President Donald Trump and others in confronting Black Lives Matter protesters. Police have not yet named a suspect in Danielson’s death.
Taylor was shot and killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, in March. One of the officers involved in her shooting has been fired, but no one has been charged. The state’s attorney general said this week that he is working to complete his investigation into Taylor’s death.
Trump, who visited Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, has not called for the prosecution of the officer who shot Blake there last week, seeking instead to turn the focus toward the rioting that occurred in the aftermath of the shooting. In a roundtable in Kenosha, Trump said, “I feel terribly for anybody that goes through that. As you know, it’s under investigation.”
“I hope they come up with the right answer,” Trump added. “It’s a complicated subject, to be honest with you.”
Biden plans to visit Kenosha on Thursday — a trip that is a relatively rare occurrence for the candidate during the coronavirus outbreak, when he has typically only traveled within Delaware or Pennsylvania.