Protesters gather in Louisville as anger mounts after only one cop is charged Breonna Taylor death

A packed U-Haul truck dropped of shields, signs, water and other protest gear to protesters as they immediately took to the streets in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday afternoon.  

Hundreds had gathered in Jefferson Square Park to hear the Kentucky grand jury’s decision on the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in a no-knock warrant on March 13. 

They erupted in anger, disgust and mourning as the grand jury indicted only one of the three police officers involved in the 26-year-old black woman’s death with ‘wanton endangerment’ of Taylor’s neighbors.  

In other parts of the city, members of the armed far-right group, the Boogaloo Boys, had also gathered, ready to counter the protests over the Taylor decision. 

They were seen approaching Louisville residents fully armed and engaging in verbal altercations with drivers as they marched across streets. 

Other cities across the country, such as New York City and Chicago, began to prepare for a night of unrest as protesters gathered there also. 

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In Jefferson Square Park, people were seen breaking down in tears and screaming while others quickly gathered together to begin marching, despite the incoming 72-hour curfew and large parts of the city being closed down. 

‘That’s it?’ some questioned, while others called to burn the city down. ‘We don’t get no murder charges?’ another asked. 

Many were angered that Brett Hankison, the sole cop charged with three counts of ‘wanton endangerment’ of Taylor’s neighbors, was required to post just a $15,000 bond. 

The protesters appeared to have been prepared to take action with a U-Haul van quickly arriving with shields and signs reading ‘Abolish the police’ and ‘Abolition now’. 

Video footage showed them rushing to offload the van before they marched toward the barricaded part of the city.  

Helicopters watched over the demonstration as it kicked off shortly after the decision was heard.  

By 2.15, the New York Times reported that 250 protesters were already marching with two dozen police cruisers in pursuit. 

The group initially march through the closed sections of the city as they chanted ‘If we don’t get it, shut it down’. 

Earlier a group of 150 people had blocked an intersection of Broadway and 6th Street, just outside a barricade that authorities have established around city buildings to keep protesters away. 

Cops quickly arrived and demonstrators moved along, watched over by more police cars.  

Tensions already began to mount as police blocked the crowd from accessing certain roads and leaders tried to keep the group together. 

At one point, protesters stopped to taunt officers waiting inside a vehicle.  

At around 3pm the crowd had grown to several hundred people as they stopped to organize at an intersection with shields to the front. 

Many shouted at those watching from their homes to begin participating.

Tensions rose further still as businesses began to be targeted and several windows were smashed. 

Some protestors were seen knocking over tables and chairs in front of a restaurant before meeting with a white citizen group who were patrolling in front of businesses to keep them secure.

‘It tells people, cops can kill you in the sanctity of your own home,’ Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian American activist, told the Times of the decision. 

‘It’s unjustifiable,’ added Desaray Yarbrough, a Louisville resident who came out to watch the march as it went by. 

‘The lack of charges is getting ready to bring the city down.’ 

As the protesters had gathered ahead of the announcement, leaders had called for peace with one of them calling on the crowd to ensure that ‘white man check white man, Black man check black man’.

Ahead of the announcement, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer had announced a 72-hour curfew for the city beginning at 9 pm, with exceptions for those going to work or to seek medical treatment, in anticipation of unrest following the decision. 

‘I urge everybody to choose peaceful and lawful protest,’ Fischer, a white Democrat, said shortly before the announcement. 

‘This is obviously a really important time for our city. I want us to think about our kids and our grandkids and get this right.’ 

He had declared a state of emergency of Tuesday.  

Barricades had also been placed around downtown this week to reduce access to the area. 

Demonstrations over Taylor’s death have taken place for 100 days in Louisville.  

Around the country, other cities were bracing for protests where there have also been weeks of unrest over Taylor’s shooting. 

Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois had spoken to the National Guard about being prepared for protests and had spoken to Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago. 

Hankison faces up to five years in prison if convicted of the endangerment charges. 

He was with two colleagues when they shot into the apartment of Taylor, 26, killing her in front of her boyfriend on March 13.

The two other officers, Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, were not charged because the investigation showed that under Kentucky law they ‘were justified in the return of deadly fire after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker,’ Taylor’s boyfriend, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said.

‘There is no doubt that this is a gut-wrenching, emotional case,’ Cameron, a Black Republican, said at a news conference.

Taylor’s death, alongside that of George Floyd, a Black man who died in May after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck, helped spark a nationwide wave of protests demanding racial justice and an end to the use of excessive force by law enforcement.