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- After the death of the African-American Breonna Taylor in a police operation in Louisville, only one of the three agents is charged.
- He is accused of endangering other residents of the apartment building.
- After the charges were made public, protests and clashes broke out between police and protesters.
Investigators had concluded that the other two officers had defended themselves, the attorney general for the US state of Kentucky said Wednesday. Breonna Taylor’s name had become a symbol of the movement against racism and police violence since her death in March.
The protesters had already gathered in downtown Louisville to announce the decision. The charges were met with disappointment and anger.
Protest marches were formed in the city, after initial clashes with the police, several protesters were arrested and two policemen were shot. Fearing unrest, the authorities had already ordered the National Guard to enter the city as a precautionary measure and erected barriers.
Several protesters in Louisville were arrested.
Keystone
Deadly operation in March
In mid-March, police arrived at Taylor’s apartment in the middle of the night with a search warrant. According to the investigation, they knocked on the door, identifying themselves as policemen. There is a witness to that. When they got no response, they broke down the door. Cameron said they saw a man and a woman in the apartment.
The man, a friend of Taylor’s, was the first to shoot and wounded one of the officers in the leg. Later, the police opened fire and fired 32 shots. They met the unarmed Breonna Taylor at least five times, but not her boyfriend. Of the bullets that hit the 26-year-old paramedic, one was fatal.
One of the policemen fired 10 times from outside the apartment and some of his bullets hit neighboring apartments, Cameron said. The officer was charged with “willfully endangering” in three cases. For this he faces three times in prison for up to five years.
