'I love the black community': Trump brings up Abraham Lincoln when asked about Breonna Taylor case

President repeats claim about Abraham Lincoln

Donald Trump refused to immediately comment on the Breonna Taylor case on Wednesday, hours after a grand jury announced that no charges would be brought against officers who shot and killed her.

When asked for his opinion on the decision, Mr Trump repeated a claim that he had done more for Black Americans Abraham Lincoln. 

“My message is that I love the black community and I’ve done more for the black community than any other president — and I say — with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln,” he told reporters at the White House.

“I don’t know enough about it,” he added, referring to a grand jury announcement on Ms Taylor’s case that brought three charges of "wanton endangerment" against one officer involved in the killing of the 26-year-old medical technician.

Following months of protests over the killing, officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment — a felony charge which fell far short of what activists had hoped for.  

The charges handed down do not relate to the killing of Ms Taylor, but to bullets fired by detective Hankison that hit neighbouring apartments. Mr Hankison’s bail was set at $10,000.

Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, the two other officers involved in the shooting, and who fired the shots that hit Ms Taylor, will face no charges.

Ms Taylor was struck by six bullets fired by the officers after they forced their way into her apartment. Her death, and the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked nationwide protests calling for racial justice.

In June, the Louisville Metro Police Department fired Hankison. Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder, who is retiring on 1 October, wrote in the termination notice that Hankison "displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "wantonly and blindly fired" 10 rounds into Ms Taylor's home.

— With agencies