LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (AP) -- A grand jury on Monday declined to indict a Louisville police detective who fatally shot a handcuffed black man in December.
James Taylor had been handcuffed behind his back in his apartment when Michael O’Neil shot him 11 times. Police said O’Neil fired after Taylor lunged at him with a boxcutter, an account disputed by some witnesses.
The jury considered several charges against O’Neil, including murder. It also considered but did not approve charges against O’Neil’s partner, Bryan Luckett. Both detectives are white.
The shooting prompted protests in Louisville by civil rights activists, who also condemned Monday’s grand jury decision.
“It’s unfair. It’s unjust. I know you’re angry,” the Rev. Louis Coleman told a gathering of a couple dozen people at the Justice Resource Center.
Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert White, who was hired after Taylor’s death, said an administrative investigation will be conducted into the officers’ conduct, and they will remain on administrative leave. Also, a civilian review board will investigate the shooting.
A coroner’s report said Taylor, 50, died within a minute of being shot. The victim had a history of mental illness and drug addiction, and an extensive criminal background, including 10 years in jail for manslaughter.
Dr. Richard Greathouse, the former Jefferson County coroner, said at the time that in his 29 years as coroner he had never before seen a handcuffed suspect being “riddled with bullets.”
“The circumstances are very troubling, to say the least,” said Greathouse, who has since retired.
Dave Stengel, the commonwealth’s attorney whose office presented the case to the grand jury, said he agreed with Monday’s decision.
“Every person in Kentucky, whether citizen or police officer, has the right of self-defense,” he said.
Stengel has said he felt “personal and political pressure” to take the case to the grand jury; he also said he wanted the community to see the facts in the case.
Since June 2000, Louisville police officers have fatally shot six men, five of them black. No charges were brought against any of the officers.
Taylor’s estate has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the detectives, police department and city.
An FBI investigation of the shooting was forwarded to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, which confirmed Monday that the case is under review.