Protests erupted in more than a dozen US cities on Wednesday in response to the announcement that three officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor would not be charged for her death.
Hundreds of demonstrators turned out in cities from coast to coast. In Washington DC, a group of hundreds gathered at Black Lives Matter Plaza in direct view of the White House. Marchers chanted “no justice, no peace” as cars honked in support.
In New York, a massive crowd gathered outside the Barclay Center in Brooklyn, kneeling in honor of Taylor. Crowds were also seen in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Kansas City and Indianapolis, while protesters in Atlanta shouted, “Say her name! Breonna Taylor!”
Alexander Marquardt
(@MarquardtA)
March for Breonna Taylor has just arrived at the White House pic.twitter.com/jj0pQfQUSa
September 23, 2020
Meanwhile in Louisville, Kentucky, largely peaceful protests began shortly after the decision was announced, with protesters still out on the street as the city’s 9pm curfew approached. The demonstrations come in response to the long-awaited decision by a grand jury about whether the officers involved in the death of Taylor, who was shot in her apartment in Lousiville on 13 March by white police officers who were serving a so-called “no-knock” warrant”, would be punished.
Her death sparked months of protests in the city, and her name became a rallying cry at nationwide demonstrations against racial injustice and policing. Numerous high profile figures, including the Democratic nominee Joe Biden, had called for criminal charges against the police officers who were involved in the raid.
The grand jury did charge one of the officers, Brett Hankison, with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that went into another home with people inside. But jurors didn’t indict any of the officers on charges directly related to Taylor’s death.
Louisville had declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the announcement; streets in the downtown were cleared of cars and many businesses were boarded up well ahead of the announcement.
As the afternoon wore on, police in protective gear clashed with the growing number of protesters and used batons to push some of them down. Officers detained at least four people, who sat on the ground with their wrists bound behind them.
“Yes, it’s a bit extreme right now,” said Dekevion Gause, who sat beside a park memorial to Taylor made of flowers, paintings, and tiny grave markers representing Black people killed by police. “But it’s a volcano built up and now it’s exploded.”
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