87 Arrested in a Breonna Taylor Protest At Kentucky Attorney General’s Home
Taylor’s death at the hands of police officers on March 13 has prompted protests, but so far no officers have been charged.
Demonstrations over Kentucky’s handling of the alleged murder of Breonna Taylor continued Tuesday. At the home of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, 87 activists were arrested in a Breonna Taylor protest when they refused to leave the premises, CBS News reported.
Protest Earns Felony Charges
The protestors crowded Cameron’s lawn with some of them chanting slogans as cries for justice for Taylor. When law enforcement arrived, authorities asked the demonstrators to disburse, but 87 refused, leading to their arrest, according to WLKY-TV. The arrested individuals, including Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills and reality TV star Porsha Williams, received three charges, one of which is a felony.
“In total, 87 people were arrested,” Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) said in a statement. “Due to their refusal to leave the property and their attempts to influence the decision of the Attorney General with their actions, each person was charged with Intimidating a Participant in a Legal Process (Class D felony), Disorderly Conduct 2nd Degree (Class B misdemeanor), and Criminal Trespass 3rd Degree. (Violation).”
Taylor’s death at the hands of police officers on March 13 has prompted protests, but so far no officers have been charged. Two of the three officers who carried out the “no knock” warrant at Taylor’s residence were placed on administrative leave and the third was fired, CBS News reported.
Pent up frustration over the alleged lack of accountability led protestors to march to Cameron’s home Tuesday after gathering near Ballard High School in Louisville, Ky.
‘Not Acceptable’
“The stated goal of today’s protest at my home was to ‘escalate,'” Cameron said. “That is not acceptable and only serves to further division and tension within our community. Justice is not achieved by trespassing on private property, and it’s not achieved through escalation. It’s achieved by examining the facts in an impartial and unbiased manner. That is exactly what we are doing and will continue to do in this investigation.”
The attorney general’s office is proceeding with an ongoing investigation of the events surrounding Taylor’s death, he added, and protestors would not affect it.
Stills was one of the activists arrested in a Breonna Taylor protest on the attorney general’s lawn. He defended his participation in the event, calling it “good trouble”, Louisville-based Courier-Journal reported.
“Good trouble” with my brothers and sisters- organized by [activist group Until Freedom],” Stills tweeted. “Arrested for peacefully protesting. While Breonnas Taylor’s murderers are still out on the street.”
Ryan Williams, a representative for Stills said, “(Stills) has officially spent more time in jail fighting for justice than the known killers who killed Breonna Taylor.”
Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams was also detained for her involvement in the protest. She was released Wednesday morning and posted a picture of herself standing alongside Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, CNN reported.
“It was my pleasure! I love you and as always praying for you Ms.Tamika Palmer (Mother of #BreonnaTaylor ) Ps: Thank you for waiting on us to get out! It was heart warming exiting and seeing your family. [Until Freedom] it was an honor.”
She concluded by calling on Cameron to “Arrest the Cops! Do the RIGHT thing.” Taylor’s sister and boyfriend waited with Palmer outside the jail for the release of the protestors.
116 Days And Counting
Taylor was killed after cops shot her eight times during a “no knock” raid in the middle of the night March 13, The Washington Post reported. Her boyfriend returned fire and was initially charged with endangering law enforcement before the charge was dropped.
Taylor’s home was the incorrect residence for the suspect Louisville authorities were looking for; in fact, the suspect was already in custody.
“It has been 116+ days since Breonna Taylor has been murdered by the Louisville Police Department and no one has been held accountable,” Until Freedom said on its website. “We must now escalate our actions so that the powers that be know, we will not stop until we get justice for Breonna and her family.”
Cameron, however, has maintained that the investigation is progressing slowly to ensure due diligence is taken, The Washington Post reported.
“An investigation of this magnitude, when done correctly, requires time and patience,” he said on June 18. “I have a specific obligation to see that anyone accused of a crime is accorded procedural justice and that guilt is decided upon the basis of sufficient evidence, rather than public opinion.”
On Tuesday, Cameron informed the press that LMPD has turned over all the required information to his office, but he declined to set a timetable for the investigation, Courier-Journal reported. Cameron has worked on the case since taking over for a local prosecutor in mid-May.