Charles Ramsey, the former Philadelphia police commissioner and former Washington, DC, police chief, told CNN earlier tonight that he agreed with the grand jury’s decision not to charge a single officer with killing Breonna Taylor.
Only one of the officers involved in her death was indicted, on the charge of first-degree wanton endangerment.
“I do believe the one officer should have been charged — what he did was reckless and certainly criminal. The other two officers, however, that were actually making entry into the apartment, I agree they should not have been charged criminally,” Ramsey told CNN.
Ramsey said that although Taylor’s death was “unfortunate” and “tragic,” the other officers had been “justified in returning fire” because Taylor’s boyfriend had fired the first shot when the police entered her apartment using a no-knock warrant.
What happened that night: Taylor was sleeping next to her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, in the early hours of March 13, when they heard a noise. They both got up and walked to the door.
“She’s yelling at the top of her lungs — and I am too at this point — ‘who is it?’ ” recalled Walker. “No answer. No response. No anything.”
Police forced entry into the home, and Walker said he couldn’t see but he fired one shot. After entering, an officer was shot in the leg, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said earlier today.
Collectively, the three officers at the scene fired more than 30 rounds.
