Charges Dropped Against Ky. State Rep. Arrested During A Breonna Taylor Protest

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Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott had been arrested in September during a protest of following news that no police officers would face criminal charges for the killing of Breonna Taylor.

Bryan Woolston/AP

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Bryan Woolston/AP

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According to a statement from Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell’s office, the felony charges against Scott and 17 others were dropped last month. But O’Connell’s office «requested additional time to review misdemeanor charges.

On Monday, a judge dismissed charges for all but one of the group. In that case, a motion to dismiss will be considered next week, according to the statement.

«Prosecutors have a higher duty than other lawyers to be ministers of justice and not just an advocate. This means we must always seek the truth and act upon it, rather than seek a victory in court. Our independent review of these cases demonstrates this responsibility, Josh Abner, a spokesperson for Jefferson County Attorney’s office, said in a statement.

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Kentucky State Rep. Attica Scott, the only Black female legislator in the state, speaks during a news conference in September in Louisville, Ky.

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Darron Cummings/AP

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The day before the arrests, a Kentucky grand jury announced that none of the three officers involved in the shooting of Taylor, a Black woman killed in her home, would be directly charged with her death.

One of the officers faces three counts of wonton endangerment for firing into an apartment belonging to a neighbor of Taylor’s. Two other officers, including the one who FBI investigators said fired the fatal shot, have not been charged.

Taylor was killed in her apartment during a botched narcotics raid in March. Her death, along with others including George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Walter Wallace Jr., have become rallying cries during national protests demanding justice for Black Americans killed by police this year.