Gallery: Protesters in Louisville Kentucky march for third night following grand jury’s decision in Breonna Taylor case
September 26, 2020
Hundreds of demonstrators marched through downtown Louisville Friday evening to protest the death of Breonna Taylor and the grand jury’s decision regarding her case which was handed down Wednesday.
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A grand jury indicted recently fired police officer Brett Hankison with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting through the walls of a neighboring apartment during a raid on Taylor’s apartment.
Two other officers involved in the raid, Sgt. John Mattingly and Det. Myles Cosgrove, will not be charged and no officer was directly charged with Taylor’s death. Out of the three officers who took part in the raid, Hankison was the only one dismissed from the Louisville Police Department.
After marching for a just over an hour, the protesters were stopped by police in riot gear at East Main Street and South Hancock Street in the East Market District. The peaceful march was surrounded on all sides and told to disperse. Police declared the situation to be an unlawful assembly.
Tensions spiked as officers set off flash bangs disorienting protesters and causing at least one to collapse. After speaking with organizers and volunteers at the protest, officers allowed the demonstrators to retreat and disperse from the area. Organizers asked the demonstrators to allow women and children to leave the area first and to walk on the sidewalk.
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While some protesters began to disperse, others returned to Jefferson square park. Over a hundred of the demonstrators marched to the First Unitarian Church later in the evening to eat, get medical care, re-group and seek shelter during the 9:00 p.m. curfew.
At the church, protesters briefly clashed with police who said they were in the area to investigate golf balls being thrown from an apartment building at demonstrator’s cars. Officers left after about half an hour and protesters began to disperse and head home home, or in some cases return to Jefferson Square.
Follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter to see more of our coverage in Louisville this weekend and stay tuned for an upcoming story on this weekend’s demonstrations.
The Daily Egyptian News Desk can be reached at 1-618-536-3328, by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at @dailyegyptian. To stay up to date with all your southern Illinois news, follow the Daily Egyptian on Facebook and Twitter.
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