Pritzker Puts Illinois National Guard On 'State Of Readiness' Ahead Of Kentucky Grand Jury Report In Breonna Taylor Case
CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Gov. JB Pritzker has placed the Illinois National Guard on notice ahead of a Kentucky grand jury presenting its findings in the police killing of Breonna Taylor in Louisville earlier this year.
Taylor's case has taken the national spotlight in the fight against institutionalized racism, after the 26-year-old unarmed Black woman was shot and killed by police during a botched raid in March. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville's Metro Council.
A Kentucky grand jury investigating the officers involved is scheduled to present its findings to a judge Wednesday.
Pritzker and Mayor Lori Lightfoot met on Tuesday to discuss preparing for possible protests in Chicago.
"As the Governor has always said, all of the state's resources are available to municipalities if needed; this includes additional Illinois State Police troopers and the National Guard. The Governor is putting the Guard in a state of readiness to ensure they are available if municipalities request their assistance," the governor's office said in a statement.
The Jefferson County grand jury is expected to present its report on the Taylor case Wednesday afternoon to Jefferson County Circuit Judge Annie O'Connell.
Afterward, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron planned to hold a news conference to discuss the grand jury report. The news comes as people await a decision on whether charges will be filed against Louisville police officers involved in the deadly shooting.
The death of the 26-year-old Black woman during a March 13 raid is among several police shootings that have galvanized a nationwide push for police reform and racial justice. Louisville has been on edge for days awaiting a charging decision in the case, with rumors swirling but no clear indication of when it would come.
Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by officers who entered her home using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation on March 13. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville's Metro Council.
Cameron's office had been receiving materials from the Louisville Police Department's public integrity unit while they tried to determine whether state charges would be brought against the three officers involved, he has said.
Officer Brett Hankison was fired from the city's police department June 23. A termination letter sent to him by interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said the white officer had violated procedures by showing "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "wantonly and blindly" shot 10 rounds of gunfire into Taylor's apartment in March.
Hankison, Sgt. Johnathan Mattingly, Officer Myles Cosgrove and the detective who sought the warrant, Joshua Jaynes, were placed on administrative reassignment after the shooting.
Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police burst in, hitting Mattingly. Walker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but prosecutors later dropped the charge.
Walker told police he heard knocking but didn't know who was coming into the home and fired in self-defense.
Protesters have for months demanded that the officers involved in Taylor's death be charged with murder.
Louisville mayor Greg Fischer last week announced a $12 million settlement with Taylor's family over a civil lawsuit in the case, but her family has made it clear full justice would mean seeing the officers criminally charged.
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