Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal are attacked on social media for defending police

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'Her boyfriend shot a cop': Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal are attacked on social media for defending police officers who killed Breonna Taylor and blaming her boyfriend who opened fire first

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Charles Barkley and Shaquille O'Neal have been criticized on social media after being accused of defending the Louisville police officers who killed Breonna Taylor and blaming the black EMT's boyfriend for opening fire first.

Barkley and O'Neal were discussing Taylor's death and the decision not to indict any officers in her killing during the TNT pregame show ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets game on Thursday.

Barkley argued that Taylor's death couldn't be compared to the police killing of black man George Floyd because Taylor's boyfriend Kenneth Walker first fired a shot at officers when they entered her apartment with a 'no knock' warrant.

'I don't think this one was like George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery and things like that,' Barkley said.

'I feel sad that this young lady lost her life. I think the no-knock warrant is something we need to get rid of across the board. But we do have to take into account that her boyfriend shot at the cops and shot a cop.'

O'Neal agreed and argued the officers involved were simply 'doing their job' on a warrant signed by a judge.

He also said that he believed the system needed to change.

'You have to get a warrant signed and some states do allow no-knock warrants. Everyone was asking for murder charges,' he said. 'When you talk about murder, you have to show intent. A homicide occurred and we're sorry a homicide occurred.

'When you have a warrant signed by the judge, you are doing your job, and I would imagine that you would fire back.'

O'Neal last year became a deputy in the auxiliary department of Florida's Broward County Sheriff's Office but is not clear what his duties entail. He has previously been sworn in as reserve police officers at departments in California, Florida and Arizona and as a deputy marshal in Lafayette, Louisiana.

While O'Neal has held a few roles in law enforcement since retiring from the NBA in 2011, his positions have mostly been unpaid and honorary.

Kentucky's Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced on Wednesday that a grand jury had not sought criminal charges against the three police officers for their roles in Taylor's death.

The grand jury's decision to indict one officer, Brett Hankison, on wanton endangerment charges because his bullets were fired into a neighbor's apartment came after a six-month investigation carried out by Cameron's office.

Barkley and O'Neal immediately came under fire on social media for their comments as they were accused of 'defending the police'.

One person branded them: 'Skin folk, not kin folk.'

'Charles and Shaq both throwing black women under the bus,' one account with the user name Justice for Breonna Taylor wrote. 'SHAME, I used to be a fan.'

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