In Louisville, Kentucky, a grand jury has declined to charge any of the three white police officers who killed Breonna Taylor with her death, more than six months after they shot the 26-year-old Black emergency room technician in her own home. The grand jury’s only indictments were three counts of “wanton endangerment” against former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison for shooting into the apartment of a neighbor during the deadly no-knock raid that ended Taylor’s life on March 13. News of the grand jury’s single indictment sparked immediate outrage in Louisville, where protesters began flooding the streets moments after news of the decision broke.
Protester: “It feels like today — and I think it’s a fact — that Black lives do not matter to our elected officials in Louisville, in Kentucky and apparently in this country. This has been an incredibly traumatic, difficult time for the community.”
Overnight, protesters in Louisville took to the streets, defying a 9 p.m. curfew. Louisville’s police chief said a suspect was in custody after two officers were shot and hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Police fired chemical agents and projectiles throughout the night, arresting at least 127 people. Elsewhere, protests erupted in cities from coast to coast.