LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Officials in Kentucky’s largest city were preparing for more protests and riots Tuesday as the public nervously awaits the state attorney general’s announcement of officials’ qualification for Breonna Taylor’s shooting death.
With the time of the announcement still uncertain, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared a state of emergency due to the threat of civil unrest, hours after police said they would limit access to downtown. The mayor and police said they hoped to plan ahead for both the protesters and the other people who live and paint there.
But some worried in protests to get justice for Taylor why police were making such “exaggerated” efforts when the city had been the scene of nonviolent protests for months.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron refused to set a deadline for his decision. Earlier this month, he noted that “an investigation, if successful, adheres to a safe timetable. “
Acting police chief Robert Schroeder said Cameron’s officials had promised to check to notify the authorities.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Louisville police movements are due to the Scrutiny of the Taylor case in Louisville and across the country.
“The national attention here is so great, the prospect for foreigners so important, the option for someone to take anything nonviolent and verify to turn it into something other than it, is all there,” Beshear said at his COVID briefing. 19 on Tuesday.
Mayor Fischer said the purpose of officials “is the area and the opportunity for potential protesters to meet and explain their First Amendment rights after the announcement. “
“At the same time, we are preparing for any eventuality for everyone’s safety,” he said.
In a press release Tuesday, the Louisville Metro Police Department said it had erected barricades around Jefferson Square Park, where protests against Taylor’s death took place, and the perimeter of the center; allow only pedestrians on the blocks without delay surrounding the park; limit vehicle movement in other downtown spaces and limit access to parking lots.
The ministry apologized for the inconvenience caused to staff and citizens in the city centre.
“Public protection, however, is our number one priority, and it would be irresponsible if we didn’t take preventive measures to maintain it,” he said.
Police first discussed the barricades on Monday, when they also said they had canceled and were rejecting requests for permission from officers for the time being.
Federal officials closed the federal courthouse and federal buildings during the week.
Sadiqa Reynolds, who runs the Louisville Urban League for nonprofits and lives downtown, described the city’s movements as “exaggerated. “
“This is an exaggerated reaction to local protests in our community,” he said, noting that protesters had been demonstrating in and around the city for about 4 months.
When Reynolds and many others organized a nonviolent protest on Kentucky Derby Day, police blocked the streets surrounding Churchill Downs and placed dozens of officers on the runway, which without enthusiasts inside.
“This town continues to respond to a preference for justice with this preparation for war,” he said.
Taylor, a black emergency medical worker, was shot several times on March 13 through officials who entered her home on a court order to ban the strike in a narcotics investigation. The order used was similar to that of a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were discovered inside. The use of non-strike court orders has since been prohibited through the Louisville Metro Council.
Large protests opposed to Taylor’s violent death broke out last May in the city, but most of the protests have since been peaceful. Celebrities, athletes, activists and Taylor’s family circle have been pressuring Cameron for months to criminally rate the officials involved in the raid.
Last week, the city of Louisville settled a $12 million lawsuit opposed to Taylor’s family circle and promised several police reforms as part of the deal.
Meanwhile, a police officer who shot in the leg through Taylor’s boyfriend when police at night entered his apartment wrote an email to other police officers telling them that with their actions, Fischer and senior police officers “had failed us all in epic proportions. “
In the email, through the media on Tuesday and shown through his lawyer, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly wrote, “I know we did the legal, ethical and ethical thing that night. “
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, told police he fired a bullet after Taylor’s door was damaged and Mattingly came in. Walker said he thought someone had damaged the space and that he didn’t know the police were coming in
Referring to the protesters, Mattingly added that police officers are not in a position “that allows the thugs to stand in front of you and yell at you, insult you and degrade you. “
His attorney, Kent Wicker, told The Associated Press in an email that Mattingly’s email “spoke for (his colleagues) and his paintings in those difficult times. “
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This story changed to read that Taylor shot “several times,” rather than 8 times, to reflect other narratives.
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Associated Press reporter Bruce Schreiner contributed to the report.
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