BREONNA TAYLOR PROTESTS CONTINUE DESPITE CURFEW
A crowd marched in Louisville’s streets chanting “Breonna Taylor, say her name” on Sunday evening, the fifth night of protests after a grand jury declined to charge officers in the fatal shooting ofbreonnataylor.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer urged people to begin heading home about an hour before the curfew was set to begin at 9 p.m. as the protesters continued to march. Earlier in the day, people were gathered at Jefferson Square Park, which has come to be called “Breonna’s park” by demonstrators, as speakers condemned the grand jury’s decision, The Courier Journal reported.
On Saturday, a diverse crowd of hundreds marched chanting “Black Lives Matter“and “No justice, no peace” as cars honked along a busy downtown artery in this Kentucky city that has seen more than 120 days of demonstrations over the death of the 26-year-old Blackwoman in a police raid gonewrong.
Afewpolice cars followed behind, with officers telling protesters to stay on the side walk and out of the street before the march ended on Saturday. Many briefly ended up back at a downtown square that has been a focalpoint of protests.
But as a 9 p.m. curfew time approached, a police loudspeaker announced that anyone who remained in the park would be arrested for a curfew violation. The square emptied out as people departed, many dispersing though one group headed to a nearby church where protesters had found refugeonprevious nights.
As a crowd gathered outside the First Unitarian Church late Saturday, fires were set ina street nearby after 11 p.m. Police said fireworks burned a car, and windows had been broken at Spalding university and presentation Academy buildings close by.
Some demonstrators were seen with makeshift shields made of plywood. Others took shelter inside the church, which closed its doors aroundmidnight.
About 100 people remained inside the church, Jud Hendrix, executive director of Interfaith Paths to Peace, told WDRB-TV around 1 a.m. Sunday. Hendrix said he was working with police to determine if people could leave the church to go home without being arrested.
“People inside the church were asked to remain there while policewere conducting the investigation and securing the area,” the police department said in a tweet, sharing aerial and ground video of the fires thatwere set, windows that were broken and graffiti that had been spray painted.
As of the 2:20 a.m. tweet, 28 people had been arrested, the police department said. Later, police corrected the numberof people arrested to 25.
Aprevious protest on Friday night was peaceful though police arrested 22 people for curfew violations. A police spokesman said some alsowere charged with failure to disperse.
Fischer had urged continued peaceful protest sin an appearance at a news conference saturday evening.
“I’m mindful thatmanyin our community are hurting and angry about the decisions announced thisweek,” Fischer said. The mayor said he supports protesters’ First Amendment rights to protest though “we just ask you todothat peacefully please.”
Taylor was shot multiple times March 13 after her boyfriend fired at officers who had entered her home during a narcotics raid by White officers, authorities said. Taylor’s boyfriend said he didn’ t know who was coming in and fired in self- defense, wounding one officer.
Onwednesday, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced a grand jury indicted one officer on want on endangerment charges, saying he fired gunshots into a neighboring home during the raid that didn’t strikeanyone. Thatofficer has been fired.
Cameron said the other officers were not charged with Taylor’s killing because they acted to protect themselves.
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, visited a downtown park on Friday with family and her lawyers, and called on Kentucky officials to release all body camera footage, police files and the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings. Palmersaidina statement read by a family member that she felt the criminal justice system had failed her. Palmer marched at the head of Friday’s protestmarch.