LeBron James 'devastated, hurt, sad, mad!' after grand jury decision in Breonna Taylor case

The 280 characters could not fully capture LeBron James’ grief and anger. But the Los Angeles Lakers star still tried to convey his feelings on Twitter. 

James described himself as feeling “devastated, hurt, sad, mad!” after a grand jury found none of three Louisville police officers criminally liable for the death of Breonna Taylor.

Former police detective Brett Hankinson, who was fired in June, was indicted Wednesday on felony charges of wanton endangerment after shooting into an apartment next door to Taylor, the 26-year-old Black woman who was killed in her home in March. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove were justified in their use of force and do not face any charges.

Lakers forward Danny Green said that James alerted his teammates in a text message chain that a grand jury planned to share its ruling on Taylor’s killing on Wednesday afternoon. And the results clearly pained the Lakers star. 

“I’ve been lost for words today!” James tweeted. “We want Justice for Breonna yet justice was met for her neighbor's apartment walls and not her beautiful life. Was I surprised at the verdict. Absolutely not but dammit I was & still am hurt and heavy hearted.”

As part of an investigation tied to her former boyfriend, Hankinson, Mattingly and Cosgrove used a "no-knock" warrant – Cameron said Wednesday the warrant was not no-knock and that officers announced themselves – to enter Taylor's apartment shortly before 1 a.m. on March 13. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who said he didn't know police were at the door, fired one shot when the door burst open, which hit Mattingly. Police shot at least 24 rounds in response, hitting Taylor six times. 

After Wednesday's decision, James gave his condolences to Taylor's friends and family, and said he'd do his best to help all Black women.

“I send my love to Breonna mother, family and friends! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!!” James tweeted. He added in another tweet, "The most DISRESPECTED person on earth is THE BLACK WOMAN! I promise you I’ll do my best to change this as much as I can and even more!! LOVE to you QUEENS all over this country and beyond! “