Breonna Taylor was in her own home, in her own bed, in the middle of the night when her life was suddenly taken away.

It was just after midnight on the 13th of March when three strangers broke down the door of her home in Louisville, in the US state of Kentucky.

Confused and alarmed, her boyfriend fired a single shot at the intruders. In response, they opened fire. Breonna, a 26-year-old black woman and emergency room technician, was hit six times.

When the attackers left the scene, her boyfriend, a licensed gun owner, still had no idea it was, in fact, the police, executing a drugs raidThe plainclothes police officers had a search warrant because they believed Breonna Taylor's ex-boyfriend had used her apartment to receive drugs packages., who had entered their home. No drugs were ever found.

Now, six months on, one of the officers involved in her death has finally been charged with a crime - but not murder, or even manslaughter. Instead, Brett HankinsonThe detective, who did not fire the fatal shot, was sacked in June, three months after the shooting. faces three counts of "wanton endangerment" for firing into a white neighbour's apartment.

Since the decision was announced, thousands have taken to the streets to demand action. Once again, chants of "no justice, no peace" can be heard in cities all across America.

But despite the outcry, many legal experts are not surprised. Estimates suggest that the police kill an astonishing 1,000 people in the US each year (compared to an average of just three in England and Wales), but only a small fraction of the police involved are ever charged. So far in 2020, only 10 have been charged - including the killers of George FloydAn African-American man who died in Minneapolis in May 2020 when a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes..

To explain this statistic, many point to the law. It varies from state to state, but in most places, officers are allowed to use "objectively reasonable" force to defend themselves.

Critics say this gives the police too much leeway for violence - if an officer says they were in danger they may escape accountabilityProtected by powerful unions and their close working relationships with prosecutors, many feel that US police officers do not have to fear consequences for their actions., even if hindsight proves no such danger existed.

It is a situation that has left campaigners wondering: what does justice for black Americans killed by the police really look like?

Law professor Kate Levine believes there should be less focus on charges and more focus on lasting change. "We are spending too much time focusing on prosecution of individual police officers and not enough time on big systemic changes that would stop police officers from being at Breonna Taylor's house in the early hours of the morning with a battering ram."

Reform is happening - slowly. In California, politicians have changed the wording of the law: officers must now use only "necessary" force.

And in Louisville, officials have agreed to pay a $12m settlement to Breonna Taylor's family, one of the largest payouts for a police killing in American history.

For her mother Tamika Palmer, it is a step in the right direction: "Justice for Breonna means that we will continue to save lives in her honour. No amount of money accomplishes that, but the police reform measures that we were able to get passed as a part of this settlement mean so much more to my family, our community and to Breonna's legacy."

Yes, say some. A charge, however minor, is an important step forward in her family's fight for answers.
FBI investigations continue, and the other officers involved could still be sacked. For several months, her killing was overshadowed by coronavirus but as protests grow, the media and even legislators are beginning to take notice. Justice for Breonna Taylor may involve reforms, not indictments.

No, say others. The man who shot Breonna Taylor dead, Detective Myles Cosgrove, has not been charged. But this is about more than individual police officers, or individual laws. Louisville is one of the most segregatedA racist policy separating White and Black people. It was used in the southern United States from 1877 to 1968. towns in America. Until the problem of structural racism is solved in the US, there will be no justice for Breonna Taylor or any of the black Americans killed by police.