A grand jury decision to arrest and charge only one of the three Louisville police officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death continues to draw criticism nationwide. Hundreds marched Wednesday night in St. Paul after former detective, Brett Hankison, was indicted on first-degree wanton endangerment charges.
Don Lewis, who was a special prosecutor during the Philando Castile case, spoke to WCCO Radio's Dave Lee about Taylor's case on Thursday morning.
"Breonna Taylor was caught in crossfire and she was an innocent victim who didn't possess a firearm," said Lewis.
Lewis questioned the use of no-knock warrants, which Louisville police used while executing a late-night warrant in a narcotics investigation on March 13. Proposals are in place to ban no-knock warrants across the United States.
"They're very, very dangerous and frankly no longer have a place," he said. "They're used more often in Black communities. I don't think anyone would consider using a no-knock warrant in Edina or Eden Prairie. That's the big problem here. It's the way police enforce the law in Black communities as opposed to affluent white communities."
Taylor's death, and the May 25 death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police, continue to fuel calls for police reform, accountability, and an end to racial injustice.
"I think there's slow progress being made and obviously it's still an issue of intense debate," Lewis said. "I think people are rethinking policing. It's still slow, we still have these incidents, and we still have a lot of trauma in terms of the way policing occurs in distressed communities. We are seeing some slow progress."
Lewis also weighed in on the upcoming trial, or trials, of the four former Minneapolis police officers charged in Floyd's death. You can hear the entire interview below.