Some of the twelve people in the jury cried when the verdict – which the jury had deliberated on for 20 hours, spread over three days – was announced.
Breonna Taylor was shot dead in a tumult in connection with three police officers breaking into her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky. The police claim that they entered due to a narcotics investigation, but the two people the investigation revolved around were already arrested.
It took a long time. It required great patience. It was hard. The jury members took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice, said Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, after the verdict was announced.
Large protests
Taylor's death was one of several high-profile cases of police violence against blacks that led to widespread protests in the USA in 2020 and 2021.
The police officer is now convicted of having used excessive force against Breonna Taylor. The sentence will be announced on March 12. He denies any wrongdoing and has claimed during the trial that he acted to protect his colleagues after Taylor's boyfriend shot at them when they broke in.
Four were charged
The now-convicted police officer had at that point gone around the corner and shot ten shots through Taylor's glass door and window, but did not hit her. The two police officers who actually shot her were never charged, as they were considered to have shot in self-defense.
Three additional police officers, who did not participate in the raid, were charged with intentionally using false information to obtain permission for the raid that led to Taylor's death. One of them has since admitted guilt as part of an agreement with the prosecutor.
