The jury hearing led to the charging of former Louisville detective Brett Hankinson with wanton endangerment.
Audio recordings from the grand jury proceedings in the Breonna Taylor case have been released after one former officer was charged last week for allegedly firing his weapon into a nearby home on the night of her death. The recordings, which are roughly 20 hours long, will allow the public to see what information was presented to the grand jury by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
The jury chose to charge former Louisville detective Brett Hankinson with wanton endangerment, and chose not to charge anyone directly for Taylor's killing. Hankinson has pled not guilty.
The grand jury audio is being released as part of the discovery in the case against Hankison. Earlier this week, an anonymous grand juror also filed a motion to have them released and requested to be allowed to speak publicly about what evidence was presented to the grand jury so that “truth may prevail.”
A judge had ordered the release of the recordings earlier this week and gave Cameron until noon on Friday to do so. Cameron told CBS News at the time that the “grand Jury is meant to be a secretive body,” but said it was clear that wasn’t going to happen because of the public interest in Taylor’s case.
On the night of Taylor’s March 13 death, police had been authorized to carry out a “no-knock” warrant on her Louisville home as part of a narcotics investigation of a person who lived in a home 10 miles away.
Neither Taylor, nor her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were the investigation's target. Police had suspected, though, that Taylor’s home was used to receive drug by her ex-boyfriend. Authorities said they identified themselves, despite the “no-knock” warrant.
Police said the officers were “immediately” met by gunfire when they entered Taylor and Walker's home, at which point they returned fire. Walker called 911 during the ordeal and he was informed he'd shot an officer. He was initially charged with attempted murder, but the charges were later dropped after he said he shot in self-defense, thinking he and Taylor were victims of a home invasion.
Earlier in September, Taylor’s estate reached a settlement in their wrongful death lawsuit with the city for $12 million in damages. The mayor also announced sweeping police reform would be a priority. Taylor’s death has been the subject of mass protests across the country for months.
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