Mother of Louisville shooting victim urges peace
Demand justice ‘without hurting each other’
Looking to defuse anger after gunfire wounded at least seven people at a protest in Louisville, the mother of a black woman killed by police urged protesters Friday to continue demanding justice but do so “without hurting each other.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear read the statement from Breonna Taylor’s mother hours after gunshots erupted during protests late Thursday outside City Hall. One person was in critical condition, Louisville Metro Police said Friday.
Mayor Greg Fischer said police officers fired no shots. Instead, they provided aid to the wounded, he said. TV video showed terrified protesters fleeing as gunfire erupted.
With more rallies planned Friday, Taylor’s mother joined the chorus of calls for protests to remain peaceful. In her statement, Tamika Palmer said her daughter — an emergency medical technician — devoted her life to others and the “last thing she’d want right now is any more violence.”
“Please keep saying her name,” her statement said. “Please keep demanding justice and accountability, but let’s do it the right way without hurting each other. We can and we will make some real change here. Now is the time. Let’s make it happen, but safely.”
Beshear, speaking on CNN, said the protest started peacefully but some people later “turned it into something that it should not have been.”
The Democratic governor also called on President Donald Trump to retract a tweet in which he threatened to “assume control” in Minneapolis if necessary. The president, reacting to the torching of a Minneapolis police station by protesters outraged by the death of a black man in police custody, warned that “when the looting starts, the shooting starts.”
“During these times, we can condemn violence while also trying to listen, to understand, to know that there is deep frustration, rightfully so, in our country,” Beshear said. “That there has not been enough action on creating equality, of opportunity and in health care. And in a time of this COVID-19 pandemic, it’s laid bare all of that.”
Bracing for more protests, police said they wouldn’t tolerate violence or property destruction.
“We value the right to free speech and understand this community has a lot to say right now,” Louisville police Lt. Col. LaVita Chavous said. “We hear you.”
But she added that police were prepared to “take whatever action we must to try to ensure no one else is injured during this time of unrest. We ask the community to please voice your opinions in a peaceful way.”
Meanwhile, Louisville’s mayor said the use of no-knock warrants by police was being suspended, the latest in a series of policy changes and others actions in response to Taylor’s death.