Santa Fe New Mexican

Two Louisville officers shot amid protests

Grand jury says police were justified in using force in woman’s shooting death

- By Dylan Lovan, Piper Hudspeth Blackburn and John Minchillo

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Hours after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for Breonna Taylor’s death and protesters took to the streets, authoritie­s said two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrat­ions expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police.

Interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said a suspect was in custody but did not offer details about whether that person was participat­ing in the demonstrat­ions. He says both officers are expected to recover, and one is undergoing surgery.

He says the officers were shot after investigat­ing reports of gunfire at an intersecti­on where there was a large crowd.

Several shots rang out as protesters in downtown Louisville tried to avoid police blockades, moving down an alleyway as officers lobbed pepper balls, according to an Associated Press journalist. People covered their ears, ran away and franticall­y looked for places to hide. Police with long guns swarmed the area, then officers in riot gear and military-style vehicles blocked roadways.

The violence comes after prosecutor­s said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were justified in using force to protect themselves after they

faced gunfire from her boyfriend. The only charges were three counts of wanton endangerme­nt against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into a home next to Taylor’s with people inside.

The FBI is still investigat­ing potential violations of federal law in connection with the raid at Taylor’s home on March 13.

Ben Crump, a lawyer for Taylor’s family, denounced the decision as “outrageous and offensive,” and protesters shouting, “No justice, no peace!” immediatel­y marched through the streets.

Scu±es broke out between police and protesters, and some were arrested. Officers fired flash bangs and a few small fires burned in a square that’s been at the center of protests, but it had largely cleared out ahead of a nighttime curfew as demonstrat­ors marched through other parts of downtown Louisville. Dozens of patrol cars blocked the city’s major thoroughfa­re.

Demonstrat­ors also marched in cities like New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Philadelph­ia.

Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home during a narcotics investigat­ion. State Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that while the officers had a no-knock warrant, the investigat­ion showed they announced themselves before entering. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.

Along with the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, Taylor’s case became a major touchstone for nationwide protests that have drawn attention to entrenched racism and demanded police reform. Taylor’s image has been painted on streets, emblazoned on protest signs and silk-screened on T-shirts worn by celebritie­s. Several prominent African American celebritie­s joined those urging that the officers be charged.

The announceme­nt drew sadness, frustratio­n and anger that the grand jury did not go further. The wanton endangerme­nt charges each carry a sentence of up to five years.

Morgan Julianna Lee, a high school student in Charlotte, N.C., watched the announceme­nt at home.

“It’s almost like a slap in the face,” the 15-year-old said by phone. “If I, as a Black woman, ever need justice, I will never get it.”

Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said he authorized a limited deployment of the National Guard. He also urged Cameron, the state attorney general, to post online all the evidence that could be released without affecting the charges filed.

“Those that are currently feeling frustratio­n, feeling hurt, they deserve to know more,” he said.

The case 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 favor police and do not often result in steep criminal accusation­s.

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