The FBI could potentially still file federal charges against the officers involved in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor The New York Post reports.
The FBI first opened their investigation into the killing in May according to CNN. A spokesperson from the agency told the Post that it would work to determine if the department will serve justice at the federal level. The state of Kentucky indicted one of three officers in the case, as Blavity previously reported. Former detective Brett Hankinson’s indictment for wanton endangerment is not directly related to Taylor’s death and has a five-year maximum sentence.
“As we have indicated, our investigation is focusing on all aspects of Breonna Taylor’s death,” the spokesperson said to the Post. “Once our investigation is concluded, we will provide the collected facts to the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division to determine if federal criminal charges are warranted.”
In July, according to ABC News, federal agents from the Louisville office stated they were working “urgently and expeditiously” to decide if possible civil rights violations occurred.
Protests and riots across the nation intensified following Wednesday's news that only one of the three officers involved in her death would be indirectly charged in the killing.
During a call with activists, the head of the Louisville field office, James “Robert” Brown, reassured the group that Taylor’s case was a “top priority” for the agency.
He also acknowledged public sentiment that circumstances around her death weren’t precise or that details weren’t revealed promptly. Due to the complexity of the case, Brown couldn’t divulge information, but he did say, “in my experience, it’s better to be meticulous and do it right than to rush.”
The FBI leader also told ABC News that although agents are working with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, the FBI would do an independent probe of the case.
In March of this year, Taylor’s life ended in a hail of gunfire, as Blavity previously reported. The 26-year old Grand Rapids, Michigan native and celebrated EMT slept as Louisville police officers rushed into the home she shared with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, while executing a search warrant for drugs around 1 a.m.
The confused couple woke up, not knowing the police had raided their home. Walker fired his weapon at who he thought was intruders. Three officers returned fire, killing Taylor.
The investigation wouldn't mark the agency’s first civil rights violation inquiry after a shooting death.
The Department of Justice, along with the federal agency, investigated
Trayvon Martin’s high-profile 2012 shooting death, according to the DOJ’s website. Martin, a 17-year old Sanford, Fla., resident, was shot and killed by bigoted security guard George Zimmerman as he returned home from the store.
The DOJ explicitly detailed in a statement, “a team of some of the department’s most experienced civil rights prosecutors and FBI agents conducted a comprehensive, independent investigation of the events of Feb. 26, 2012.”
“The federal investigation was opened and conducted separately from the state of Florida’s investigation of the shooting under local laws. Once the state initiated the second-degree murder prosecution, federal investigators began monitoring the state’s case and halted active investigation in order not to interfere with the state’s trial. Federal investigators provided reports of interviews and other evidence they obtained to the state’s prosecution team,” the statement concluded.
In 2015, The extensive probe determined there wasn’t enough evidence to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Zimmerman had violated Martin’s civil rights. The case was not tried federally and was subsequently closed.
The city of Louisville agreed to pay a $12 million settlement to Taylor’s family this month, as Blavity previously reported.
