Demonstrators around Washington DC expressed their outrage Wednesday night over a Kentucky grand jury’s decision in the Breonna Taylor case.
The grand jury of the case, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, recommended three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison. These charges were for firing into the apartments of Taylor’s neighbors, not for her death.
“My job as a special prosecutor in this case was to put emotions aside and investigate the facts to determine if criminal violations of state law resulted in the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life,” Cameron said.
Cameron added that Sergeant John Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, two of the three officers that fired six and 16 shots at Taylor respectively, were justified in their use of force after Taylor’s partner Kenneth Walker fired one shot.
No Justice, No Peace
Residents were already gathering outside the Department of Justice hours after the announcement on Wednesday afternoon. By 10 pm, a small crowd was marching on the streets.
The crowd chanted “No justice, no peace,” among other rally cry slogans, to express their frustration on the decision.
The #BreonnaTaylor demonstrations are starting to spiral – this is one of a few skirmishes we’ve seen with @DCPoliceDept but tensions are at a boiling point pic.twitter.com/iy7gYRHgP5
— Eric Flack (@EricFlackTV) September 24, 2020
It is unknown how the protests, which were peaceful earlier in the evening, led to some destruction and confrontation. It is also not known if any arrests have been made.
Black Lives Matter
Taylor, 26, was shot dead in March during a police raid serving a narcotics warrant. Protests for justice escalated into violence after the death of George Floyd in May and the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.
Around 15 to 26 million people participated in protests around the country, which makes the movement the largest in US history.
Several other demonstrations have broken out across the country, notably in Louisville and Kentucky.