Wednesday, September 23 top news briefs
It is Wednesday, September 23. Here are today’s top news briefs.
One officer charged in relation to Breonna Taylor case
A Kentucky grand jury has indicted former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison on three counts of first-edge wanton endangerment in the Breonna Taylor shooting case. The two other officers involved in the shooting were not indicted.
The wanton endangerment charge is about Hankison allegedly firing bullets into neighboring apartments, and is not related to the actual death of Taylor. The charge means someone has shown an “extreme indifference to the value of human life.”
Breonna Taylor died in March when three police officers entered her apartment using a battering ram during a drug investigation based on Taylor’s ex-boyfriend. Taylor was living with a new boyfriend when the officers entered. The new boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at the officers thinking they were intruders, and the officers returned fire in a hail of bullets with at least six of them striking Taylor in a hallway. Taylor was still alive for about 20 minutes after the shooting, but did not receive medical attention. She was 26 and an EMT. Her name and image became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement as activists demanded the officers to be arrested.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said there is evidence that shows the officers did knock and announce their presence before entering the apartment and that the two other officers (who were not indicted) were justified in their shooting because they were shot at.
The Louisville Metro government agreed on a $12 million settlement with the family of Taylor a few weeks ago.
Ben Crump, the attorney for Taylor’s family, said it was outrageous and offensive to indict an officer for “bullets that went into other apartments but nothing for the murder of Breonna Taylor.”
Louisville is now bracing for protests — they have already declared a state of emergency as of yesterday and there is a 9 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew. News videos show protesters marching on streets. Many want for all the three officers to be arrested and for them to be indicted for murder, not for shooting into other rooms.
Vanessa Bryant sues L.A. County Sheriff over photos of Kobe crash site
Vanessa Bryant, the wife of Kobe Bryant, has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over photographs that deputies took of the helicopter crash site that killed Kobe, their daughter Gianna, and seven others on January 26.
The lawsuit accused at least 8 deputies of using their personal cell phones to take pictures of the bodies for their own pleasure. The lawsuit said the L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tried to cover it up by ordering the deputies to delete the pictures so they would not face discipline.
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Michael Jordan to own NASCAR team
Michael Jordan will own a NASCAR racing team in time for the upcoming 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season. He is partnering with NASCAR driver Denny Hamlin and has signed Bubba Wallace to be their driver. It is not known what the car number will be or who will be the sponsors. Jordan is now the second Black owner of a NASCAR team and Wallace is the only Black driver in NASCAR’s top racing level. The NASCAR has gone through an evolution this year because it banned confederate flags from its races and rallied to support Wallace when he thought he was a victim of a hate crime. Jordan said he has always loved NASCAR because he learned about racing and engines from his father and thought it was the right time to become involved.
Woman accused of sending ricin to Trump identified
The Canadian woman who is accused of sending ricin to President Trump has been identified as Pascale Ferrier (53). She is from Quebec and was arrested trying to go across the border in Buffalo on Sunday and was carrying a gun. She is accused of sending a letter with ricin to Trump with statements that said, “I found a new name for you: ‘The Ugly Tyrant Clown” and said Trump should give up his re-election bid because he was ruining the USA and leading the country to disaster. She said if the ricin didn’t work, she would find a better recipe for another poison or use her gun when she comes. She was charged with making threats against the president.
That’s all the top news briefs for today. See you tomorrow and stay with the light.
https://www.axios.com/breonna-taylor-officers-5eebd7d9-e3cd-40a9-b461-0f30a727b62f.html
https://www.tmz.com/2020/09/23/breonna-taylor-grand-jury-results-kentucky-attorney-general/
https://nascar.nbcsports.com/2020/09/23/michael-jordan-denny-hamlin-excited-for-nascar-partnership/