We recently marked the first year of being in lockdown due to COVID-19, which also means we’ve arrived at the anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death. The 26-year-old suffered fatal gunshot wounds in an exchange of gunfire when Louisville Metro Police Department officers stormed into the home she and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were inside. Sustaining six gun-shot wounds, the anniversary of her death this Saturday (March 13) reignited protests across the country, namely in Los Angeles, where confrontations between protestors and officers turned tense.
During the Los Angeles demonstrations, two protestors jumped on top of the hood of an LAPD squad car. They then began to pound on the hood of the car before it quickly accelerated, hurling the protestors onto the pavement. The police came to the protest decked out in riot gear as they battled with protestors.
Demonstrations also took place in New York, Seattle, and Louisville, the same city in which Breonna was slain by police. The demonstration in Louisville was led by Tamika Palmer, Breonna’s mom, and began calmly. Tensions arose when protestors began to block roads, with the officers declaring the protest was “unlawful assembly” before forcing the crowd to disperse.
In Seattle, cops grabbed umbrellas held by some of the protestors to push the crowd back as they faced off with the crowd. Several protestors were arrested for various alleged crimes, including obstruction and resisting arrest.
Tamika Palmer has asked the Grand Jury to look at Breonna’s murder to determine if the officers involved had committed homicide, which is something Attorney General Daniel Cameron did not allow in the first Grand Jury case. May Breonna continue to Rest in Power.
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