435 arrests in 49 days: Taylor protesters unfazed
Sacrifice is worth the effort to bring cops to justice, they say
“Getting arrested and engaging in civil disobedience sends a message that we’re willing to escalate, and we’re willing to risk more.”
Linda Sarsour, co-founder of Until Freedom
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The chants continued even as the zip ties closed on the wrists of the protester. His hands cuffed behind his back, he shouted through his “Breonna Taylor” emblazoned mask: “Say her name!”
The seated crowd of protesters, sometimes raising a fist and sometimes linking arm in arm as they awaited their imminent arrests for trespassing on Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s property on Tuesday evening, chanted back, “Breonna Taylor!”
The man’s voice faded as he was escorted away by an officer, but the chants carried on. They continued the next day, too, as a group of supporters cheered protesters after they were released from the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections.
Since the protests began 49 days ago, 435 individuals have been arrested, according to Louisville Metro Police Department. Those arrests have been a defining element of the demonstrations that have crisscrossed the city.
Taylor, 26, was asleep at home March 13 when three Louisville plainclothes officers serving a no-knock warrant fired their weapons and killed her.
Protesters have been arrested for inciting a riot during repeated clashes with police downtown, for disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway during a Black Lives Matter Louisville-organized protest blocking the Second Street Bridge last month, and for trespassing at Cameron’s home Tuesday during a protest organized by the national group Until Freedom. Cameron’s office is investigating the case and will determine what, if any, state criminal charges the officers face.
The arrests, however, have not slowed protests, and instead have played a constant role in the Breonna Taylor movement.
The 87 arrested on Tuesday – and charged with felonies for intimidating a participant in the legal process – were the latest example of protesters being unfazed by punishment from a justice system they don’t endorse.
“Getting arrested and engaging in civil disobedience sends a message that we’re willing to escalate, and we’re willing to risk more,” said Linda Sarsour, co-founder of Until Freedom and one of the 87 arrested on Tuesday.
‘Standing up for what’s right’
There have been daily, organic marches each day for the past seven weeks, and Sarsour and Until Freedom previously visited Kentucky for a rally in Frankfort in late June.
But being arrested can have a more profound impact.
“What a direct action does is it takes us to a direct target. It was very clear that we were going to Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s house because he has influence and power over our demand,” Sarsour said. “We had a singular demand: Arrest and charge the cops involved in the murder of Breonna Taylor.”
Some of the 87 arrested Tuesday were celebrities and athletes, and some came from out of town. However, others, such as Sidney Williams, were Louisville residents who volunteered to be arrested for a cause they believe in. Williams said he was detained for 17 hours and spent the night on a concrete floor.
“The value of an arrest is, when people like me who have everyday 9-to-5 jobs and who are working in communities and serving and things of that nature, decide to risk getting arrested, that’s when I feel like we’re showing people in power that we mean business,” Williams said.
Chris Wells, a leader at the daily Jefferson Square Park marches, was arrested June 17 after protesters blocked traffic in downtown Louisville. He’s quit his jobs and put his life “on hold” for the protests, and to him, the arrest is almost a badge of honor.
“I love getting locked up,” he said. “You know why? Because it was for standing up for what’s right. I didn’t get locked up for selling drugs, I didn’t get locked up for killing no one, I didn’t get locked up for doing anything wrong. I got locked up for standing up for what’s right.”
Wells was tackled by police as he was arrested, which he said was unfair. He also took issue with his time in jail, when he said he asked for medical help but was not given any.
“It felt like I was in hell,” Wells said. Carmen Jones, a Black woman arrested June 15, said after being detained at 8 p.m., she was released at 4:30 a.m. She said she was treated differently than several white women who were arrested alongside her.
“The police singled me out. I was the only one to be searched. I was the only one to be patted down. I was the only one whose belongings were went through,” she said.
Still, Jones said she would be willing to get arrested again, and that’s a belief embodied in one protester chant: “We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
Reece Chenault, a labor organizer and community activist, was among the 43 arrested on the Second Street Bridge on June 29. He said he was in jail for 12 hours, during which he slept on a concrete floor, aggravating his rotator cuff.
“Some brothers with some ingenuity built a chessboard out of a blanket,” he said of passing the time in the cell, using bits of sandwiches as chess pieces.
After protesters are released, there are systems and groups in place to provide food and emotional support – “It’s really stressful and really scary for a lot of people,” Chenault said.
Lawyers step up for protesters
David Mour, an attorney who has attended the protests since nearly the beginning, represents several of the protesters who have been arrested; he said that several forces – attorney associations, bail groups, etc. – will work together to provide each arrested protester with an attorney.
“There are a lot of lawyers they’re signing up to help out, so they’ll get representation,” Mour said.
He said that many of the charges protesters face are exaggerated, such as a woman who was charged with assaulting a police officer after throwing water at an officer this month during a standoff near Jefferson Square Park.
“Most of these charges, this is just my opinion, it’s disorderly conduct, inciting rioting, failure to disperse, I don’t think they can make any of those charges,” he said.
Protesters are also often provided with other support after being released, including rides.
“Most times after people get arrested, they’re ready to go home and just be in their bed,” said Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer Talesha Wilson.
A promise to continue
Sarsour called Tuesday an “initial escalation” to “test the waters” and said it would not be her last time in Louisville.
She took issue with the charges against her and the others arrested but said it wouldn’t dampen the movement’s energy.
“We did absolutely trespass; we can’t deny that charge,” she said of the misdemeanor. “But we are being charged with a felony as an intimidation tactic by the LMPD in hopes that they believe we will never do this ever again because of that charge. We are not intimidated.”
Louisville Metro Police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said the felony charge stemmed from the belief that the protesters were using “force or a threat” directed toward a participant in the legal process, of which Cameron is.
“Prior to arriving at the home, it was stated the intent of the protest was to ‘escalate’ their actions, which in the past has indicated violent or destructive behavior. At one point on livestream, protesters are heard saying they will burn it down if they don’t get what they want,” Halladay said in a statement.
Some protesters chanted “If we don’t get it, burn it down,” a variant of the typical, “If we don’t get it, shut it down,” as they gathered a school Tuesday, before protesters knew they would be marching to Cameron’s home. Only Until Freedom leadership knew their destination at that time.
Protesters also appeared to chant “burn it down” while in Cameron’s front yard, although saying “burn it down” is a semi-common, general phrase from protesters.
As protesters emerged from detainment on Wednesday, they led chants and hugged one another. Williams walked out with his arms high above his head.
“Everyone needs to start putting their bodies on the line, if they can,” he said of being arrested, “because they will detain us for 17 hours instead of arresting the cops that killed Breonna Taylor. I’ll gladly go back to jail until you arrest the cops that killed Breonna Taylor.”