Families seek new investigations into old police killings

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The protests against racial injustice since George Floyd was killed during a police encounter in Minnesota have encouraged families around the country to urge authorities to reinvestigate other police killings.

Activists dismayed by a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge any officers in Breonna Taylor’s death also want prosecutors to take a second look at cases in which officers were cleared of wrongdoing.

Some people with law enforcement experience think the nationwide push for police reform could lead prosecutors to acquiesce, if the pressure is great enough.

Others see such campaigns as uphill battles because criminal laws and juries often give great deference to police and the split-second decisions they have to make.