Breonna Taylor grand jury decision: Cardi B, Kehlani, Common and more react

Artists including Cardi B, Kehlani, Tinashe and Common have reacted to news that the Louisville, Kentucky police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor will not face charges relating to her death.

A Kentucky grand jury indicted former detective Brett Hankison, who will be charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment relating to gunfire which entered a neighbouring apartment.

The other officers John Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, the latter of which fired the shot that killed Taylor, will not be charged.

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Cardi B, who had previously called for more male rappers to speak on the Taylor case, called the decision “so sad and discouraging”.

In a video shared the same day as the grand jury decision, Stevie Wonder spoke on the Taylor case, as well as Trump, the passing of US Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the protests for George Floyd.

“No amount of money has ever brought a life back. Ask yourself, why so long for Breonna Taylor?” he said.

See how other artists, including Tinashe, Kehlani, Lizzo and Common, reacted to the grand jury decision.

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SAY HER NAME. Breonna Taylor.

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The grand jury decision has also sparked outrage from the public with protests erupting nationwide, including in Louisville, per The New York Times.

Numerous artists have made statements calling for justice for Taylor in the six months since her death. These include Beyoncé, who penned an open letter to the Kentucky Attorney General, and The Weeknd, who called for justice for Taylor and Jacob Blake in his acceptance speeches at the MTV VMAs 2020.

In June, Rihanna wrote on Instagram that Taylor’s “killers are at home watching Netflix on the couch. WTF is America?!” Earlier that month, on Taylor’s birthday of June 5, artists including Solange, Selena Gomez and Megan Thee Stallion made renewed calls for justice.

On March 13, 26-year-old Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by police officers raiding her Kentucky home with a “no-knock warrant”, on suspicions that her home may have been used to receive drug packages.

The Kentucky attorney-general reported that upon entering the apartment, officers were fired on by Taylor’s partner, Kenneth Walker. Officers fired multiple shots in retaliation, one of which killed Taylor. A police search found no drugs in the apartment.

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