Both peaceful and violent demonstrations broke out across the country after a Kentucky grand jury declined to file homicide charges against any of the three police officers were involved in the March raid in which Breonna Taylor was shot and killed.
Protests began in Louisville minutes after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced the grand jury’s findings Wednesday afternoon. By the evening, two law enforcement officials in Louisville were shot, but neither officer was in critical condition, and the police announced an arrest has been made in connection with the shooting. Approximately 100 protesters, and some journalists, were arrested there, according to CBS News affiliate WLKY.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared an emergency order prior to the grand jury announcement, closed much of the downtown area, and issued a 9 p.m. curfew for the city.
Former detective Brett Hankison faces charges for putting Taylor’s neighbors in danger during the raid of her home in March, but none of the three officers involved in the raid was charged with killing the 26-year-old black emergency medical technician. Hankison was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The court issued a warrant for his arrest and set the bond at $15,000. Louisville Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, two officers who opened fire in Taylor’s home after her boyfriend fired one shot with a gun, were not charged.
“Jefferson County Grand Jury indicts former ofc. Brett Hankison with 3 counts of Wanton Endangerment in 1st Degree for bullets that went into other apartments but NOTHING for the murder of Breonna Taylor. This is outrageous and offensive!” Taylor’s family’s attorney, Ben Crump, tweeted. “If Brett Hankison’s behavior was wanton endangerment to people in neighboring apartments, then it should have been wanton endangerment in Breonna Taylor’s apartment too. In fact, it should have been ruled wanton murder!”
Other cities where protests broke out, and in some places violence, include Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Denver, San Diego, and Seattle.
In the nation’s capital, protesters were described as largely peaceful, but there were a couple of broken windows, setting off firecrackers, and beating on traffic signs, according to the Washington Post. Protesters also disrupted diners at outdoor restaurants, which has happened in the city during past protests.
Riots were declared in San Diego, California and Portland, Oregon, two cities that have had daily protests against police brutality since the death of George Floyd in May, and police declared the demonstrations in Seattle, Washington to be an unlawful assembly, which resulted in more than a dozen arrests.
Portland police said, “A Molotov Cocktail was thrown towards officers outside of Central Precinct,” and Seattle law enforcement said demonstrators were throwing fireworks and glass bottles toward officers on the scene. The San Diego force said they declared a riot “in response to acts of violence & vandalism.”
