Officials plead for calm amid anger over Breonna Taylor case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities pleaded for calm while activists vowed to fight on Thursday in Kentucky’s largest city, where a gunman wounded two police officers during anguished protests following the decision not to charge officers for killing Breonna Taylor.

Outrage over a grand jury’s failure to bring homicide charges against the officers who burst into the Black woman’s apartment six months ago set off a new round of demonstrations Wednesday in several American cities. The state attorney general said the investigation showed officers were acting in self-defense when they responded to gunfire from Taylor’s boyfriend.

Reginique Jones returned Thursday morning to the park in downtown Louisville that has been the hub for protests, saying she was distraught over the grand jury’s decision to only charge a single officer for firing into apartments neighboring Taylor’s. Still, Jones vowed to continue pressing for increased police accountability and for a statewide ban on “noknock” warrants — the kind issued in the Taylor case, though state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the investigation showed police did announce themselves before entering.

“I believe that we are going to get past this,” Jones said as demonstrators began to arrive at the park dubbed Injustice Square. “As long as we continue to remain strong, and stay on the same page, we can still get some justice.”

Though protests in Louisville began peacefully the day before, officers declared an unlawful assembly after they said fires were set in garbage cans, several vehicles were damaged and stores were broken into. A 26-year-old man was arrested and charged with firing at police and wounding two officers.