Illinois, too, prepares for Breonna Taylor announcement

CHICAGO (AP) - Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday put the state's national guard in a 'Å“state of readiness" in anticipation of Kentucky's attorney general's announcement on whether charges will be filed in the police killing of Breonna Taylor.

Pritzker's office said in a statement that the national guard would fall under the direction of the state police if necessary. The national guard was activated earlier this year during civil unrest following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May.

It is unclear when Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron will announce the decision.

Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker in Kentucky, was shot multiple times March 13 by Louisville officers who entered her home using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant used was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside the home. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville's Metro Council.

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, told police he fired one round after Taylor's door was broken down, and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly entered. Walker said he thought someone was breaking into the house and didn't know it was police entering. Mattingly was wounded in the shooting.

Last week, the city of Louisville settled a lawsuit from Taylor's family for $12 million and pledged several police reforms as part of the agreement.

Protests over Taylor's death in Louisville became occasionally violent in late May, but most demonstrations since then have been peaceful. Celebrities, athletes, activists along with Taylor's family have for months pushed Cameron to criminally charge the officers involved in the raid.