On the same day it was announced that the Louisville, Kentucky, police officers who killed Breonna Taylor won’t face criminal charges for her death, ESPN analyst Jalen Rose took a moment during the network’s live coverage of the NBA Eastern Conference championships to call for those officers to be arrested.
As ESPN was about to cut to commercial during a discussion of Miami Heat shooting guard Tyler Herro, Rose said, “He’s been putting in work for a young fella. But it would be a great day to arrest the cops that murdered Breonna Taylor!”
Taylor was killed March 13 at age 26 by Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant. They were investigating two men they believed to be selling drugs, one of whom had dated Taylor in the past and had previously received mail at her apartment. But during the raid, according to a lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, officers in plainclothes — later identified as Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove — broke into the apartment while Taylor and her boyfriend were asleep in bed, without announcing themselves. (The LMPD has countered that the officers knocked several times and announced themselves.)
After the door to the apartment came off its hinges, Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot in self-defense, according to his attorney, and hit one of the officers in the leg. The police then opened fire in response, firing more than 20 rounds into the apartment and hitting Taylor six times. She was not suspected of any crimes, and Kentucky allows possession of a firearm with a permit. The attorney representing Taylor’s family has also asserted that the officers repeatedly lied about key details about the circumstances of her death.
There have since then been widespread calls for the officers to face trial, but on Wednesday a Kentucky grand jury indicted Hankison on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment related to damage done to adjacent apartments by police gunfire. The indictment essentially charges Hankison for the endangerment of Taylor’s neighbors, but not for the shooting of Taylor herself. The grand jury also declined to indict the two other officers involved in the raid, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.
In response, there have been widespread protests in Louisville Wednesday night, and two officers were shot, suffering non-life threatening injuries. A suspect is in custody and is likely to be indicted for that shooting.
Chadwick Boseman's 10 Most Memorable Roles, From Jackie Robinson to Black Panther (Photos)
Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer on Friday at age 43, made a striking impression in both TV and on the big screen in his too-short time in the spotlight.
Nathaniel Ray, "Lincoln Heights" (2008-09)
Chadwick Boseman had popped in small TV roles in the early 2000s but he had his first major breakthrough role in this ABC Family drama as a member of the U.S. Army who belatedly learns he's the son of the series lead (Russell Hornsby).
ABC Family
Graham McNair, "Persons Unknown" (2010)
He followed "Lincoln Heights" with a role on a short-lived NBC drama about a group of strangers who find themselves plunked into a ghost town.
NBC
Jackie Robinson, "42" (2013)
Boseman landed his first lead role on the big screen in Brian Helgeland's biopic of Jackie Robinson, the first Black player to break into Major League Baseball. He starred opposite Harrison Ford, who played the Brooklyn Dodgers' general manager.
Warner Bros.
Vontae Mack, "Draft Day" (2014)
Boseman switched sports for his next role, as top linebacker prospect from Ohio State who's considered a safe No. 1 pick for a Cleveland Browns GM played by Kevin Costner.
Lionsgate
James Brown, "Get on Up" (2014)
Boseman left the playing field but returned to the biopic genre for this next project, Tate Taylor's look at the rock legend James Brown.
Universal
Jacob King, "Message From the King" (2016)
In this Netflix film, Boseman plays a South African man who arrives in Los Angeles searching for his missing younger sister -- and then embarks on a vengeance quest in an unfamiliar city.
Netflix
Black Panther (2016-19)
After making an introduction in "Captain America: Civil War," Boseman helped create a cultural phenomenon with the success of 2018's standalone "Black Panther" as the prince of the fictional African nation of Wakanda who becomes a superhero beyond his isolated realm. The film grossed $1.3 billion worldwide.
Disney
Thurgood Marshall, "Marshall" (2017)
Boseman returned to playing famous historic figures in Reginald Hudlin's courtroom drama -- which narrowed its look at Thurgood Marshall to an early case he tried as a lawyer for the NAACP, long before he ever imagined taking a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Open Road
Andre Davis, "21 Bridges" (2019)
In this thriller, Boseman plays an NYPD detective in the midst of a manhunt for two cop-killers as he discovers that his fellow officers may be up to shady business themselves.
STX Entertainment
Stormin' Norman, "Da 5 Bloods" (2020)
Boseman has a small role in Spike Lee's Vietnam-set drama as the leader of all-Black squadron sent to recover the cargo from a downed CIA helicopter. Though he only appears in flashbacks, he makes a striking impression.
Netflix
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The actor died Friday at age 43 of colon cancer
Chadwick Boseman, who died of colon cancer on Friday at age 43, made a striking impression in both TV and on the big screen in his too-short time in the spotlight.