Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has released a statement blasting the Kentucky grand jury’s decision on the killing of Breonna Taylor.
On March 13, Louisville police officers shot the 26-year-old Taylor at least six times in her home while executing a so-called “no-knock” warrant.
None of the three officers involved in the shooting were charged with Taylor’s death — instead, officer Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for shots fired into an apartment adjacent to Taylor’s.
“The charging of Breonna Taylor is egregious and lacking justice,” McCready wrote in his statement, posted to PJ’s Twitter. “Wanton endangerment charges the officer for the bullets that did not hit Breonna Taylor, and does not charge the officers for the bullets that took her life.”
“This charge does not value her life and continues to validate the broken system that does not support those most in need, especially communities of color,” the guitarist added.
Addressing the ongoing protests in response to the ruling, McCready writes, “Although I do not agree with violent protest, I am a white person who benefits from racism, and deciding what is an appropriate way for communities of color to react is not my place of the place of any other white person.”
“What I believe my job as a white man is, is to be an ally to communities of color, work at being antiracist, and listen to help effect change for communities most in need,” he concludes.
By Josh Johsnon
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