Two police officers shot as anger erupts in wake of Taylor decision
● No charges to be brought in connection with death of medic
Anger, frustration and sad - ness over the decision not to charge Kentucky police officers over B re on na Taylor’ s death poured into America’s streets as protesters lashed out at a criminal justice system they say is stacked against black people.
Violence broke out in the demonstration sin her hometown of Louisville as gunfire rang out. Two policemen were shot, but did not have lifethreatening injuries.
Police in Portland said protesters hurled Molotov cocktail sat officers in Oregon’ s largest city during a demonstration. In a statement, police said the protesters also threw rocks that shattered windows at a police station. One officer was hit on the foot with a Molotov cocktail, but a fire department medic managed to extinguish the flames.
Portland has been gripped by protests for four months since the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. There were no immediate reports of injuries or arrests during the most recent clashes.
Activists, celebrities and everyday Americans have been calling for charges since Ms Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers who broke down the door and burst into her home during a narcotics investigation in March.
She was in bed with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, when the officers entered. They got out of bed and Mr Walker fired a gun, hitting one of the officers in the leg. The officers fired back, killing Ms Taylor.
The subsequent police report contained errors, including listing Ms Taylor’s injuries as “none” and saying no force was used to enter, when a battering ram had been used.
A grand jury on Wed n esday returned three charges of wanton endangerment against officer Brett Hankison
over his shooting into a home next to Ms Taylor’s when people were inside.
A ballistics report concluded a shot fired by another officer killed Ms Taylor. He has not been charged.
After the announcement, B en Crump, a lawyer for Ms Taylor’ s family, denounced the decision as “outrageous and offensive”.
Hundreds of demonstrators chanted Ms Taylor’ s name and marched in cities including New York, Washington, DC, Philadelphia, Las Vegas
and Portland. People ga there din Chicago’ s Mill en nium Park, chanting demands for justice as drivers honked their horns. Police in Atlanta unleashed chemical agents and made arrests after some protesters tried to climb on a SWAT vehicle.
In Minnesota and Wisconsin, marchers peace fully blocked highway traffic.
In Louisville, police said they arrested 127 people after what began as peaceful protests. Officers declared an unlawful assembly after they said fires were set in rubbish bins and several vehicles were damaged. A police statement also described the “looting” of several stores.
Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said a suspect was detained in the shooting of two officers, who are expected to recover from their wounds.
Ms Taylor’s case has exposed the wide gulf between public opinion on justice for those who kill black Americans and the laws under which those officers are charged, which regularly favour police and do not often result in steep criminal accusations.
Carmen Jones has protested in downtown Louisville every day for nearly three months. She said she felt despair after the grand jury’s decision.
“We’re tired of being hashtags,” she said. “We’re tired of paying for history in our blood and our bodies and being told to respond to this violence and aggression with peace.”
Jones said she still hoped their demonstrations would lead to system-wide change, but the decision in Ms Taylor’s case makes her feel like her life did not matter in America.