Agitators Snap Into Action Minutes After Grand Jury's Breonna Taylor Decision: 'Burn It Down!'
Demonstrators took to the streets of Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday chanting, “Burn it down!” just moments after the announcement that no police officers would be charged in the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said at a news conference that a grand jury had indicted former Louisville police Officer Brett Hankison on three counts of “wanton endangerment” for firing 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment through a sliding glass door and window, both of which were covered with blinds, The New York Times reported.
His actions during the March 13 narcotics raid on Taylor’s apartment were in violation of department policy, which requires officers to have a direct line of sight before discharging their weapons, Cameron said.
There was no evidence that Hankison’s gunfire hit Taylor.
However, the rounds traveled through the walls of the apartment behind Taylor’s, missing a pregnant woman, her husband and their 5-year old child, who were asleep, which is the basis of the three-count indictment against Hankison, Cameron said.
The other two officers involved in the raid — Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove — were not charged because their actions were justified in returning fire after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at them, Cameron said.
One officer was struck in the exchange of gunfire.
Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman, has become one of the faces of the Black Lives Matter movement, with supporters saying a no-knock search warrant issued for the raid was an example of abuse of police power.
However, Cameron said during his news conference that a witness confirmed the police knocked and announced their presence before entering the apartment.
Protesters were not satisfied with the grand jury’s decision to not charge the officers in Taylor’s death.
Minutes after the announcement, large numbers began marching through downtown Louisville chanting, “We didn’t get it, burn it down!”
“We didn’t get it, burn it down!” The crowd continues to grow out here in Louisville this afternoon #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/m4nHrbPvJC
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020
“The crowd continues to grow out here,” independent journalist Brendan Gutenschwager reported.
Protesters surround a man trying to defend his business, and begin smashing the windows #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor #LouisvilleProtests pic.twitter.com/ZeMAuccr4e
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020
Other demonstrators called to shut down one of the highways running through Louisville.
Calls to shut the highway down as the crowd continues to mobilize #Louisville #BreonnaTaylor pic.twitter.com/R71aqiMp8u
— Brendan Gutenschwager (@BGOnTheScene) September 23, 2020
Another video captured a U-Haul rental truck showing up with items for demonstrators to use as they marched down the street.
Who’s funding all of this?pic.twitter.com/gRsbtth4DM
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) September 23, 2020
Most city administrative buildings and businesses were boarded up prior to the decision, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer also declared a state of emergency Tuesday in anticipation of the decision.
Taylor’s family received a $12 million wrongful death settlement from the city last week.
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