The Latest: Protesters outside Louisville church amid curfew

By The Associated Press 26 September 2020, 12:00AM

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The Latest on a grand jury's decision not to indict police officers on criminal charges directly related to Breonna Taylor's death: (all times EDT)

9:30 p.m.

More than 100 people have gathered outside a downtown church in Louisville, Kentucky, despite a nighttime curfew.

The demonstrators remained largely peaceful Friday night on the sidewalk surrounding the First Unitarian Church, with some yelling “say her name, Breonna Taylor" and “You can't stop the revolution.”

The church grounds had offered a brief refuge to demonstrators after a curfew the previous night.

There was no immediate sign of any police officers nearby after a 9 p.m. curfew took effect Friday.

It was the third straight night of protests in Louisville since a grand jury decided Wednesday not to charge any police officers for Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police raid gone wrong.

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BREONNA TAYLOR CASE:

Protesters have been marching in Louisville, Kentucky, and other cities after a grand jury decided to bring no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong. At a Friday news conference, family attorney Ben Crump called for the release of grand jury transcripts and relatives of Taylor criticized Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Also Friday, a not guilty plea was entered in court for Larynzo Johnson, who is accused of shooting and wounding two police officers during protests after the grand jury announcement.

Read more:

— Black attorney general chokes up during Taylor announcement

-- A timeline of events related to the death of Breonna Taylor

— Celebrities decry decision in Breonna Taylor case

— Publisher: 2 reporters arrested during Kentucky protests

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

8:30 p.m.

Louisville Metro Police say they declared an unlawful assembly and fired flash bangs above a group of demonstrators marching through the streets of that Kentucky city on Friday evening.

The agency said it declared the gathering unlawful after officers asked protesters to move from the street to the sidewalks multiple times. Police added in a statement that the crowd began to disperse when they ordered them to leave, but two people were arrested.

The department did not immediately specify what led to the arrests, or give information on charges.

It was the third straight night of protests in Louisville since a grand jury decided Wednesday not to charge any police officers for Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police raid gone wrong.

___

8 p.m.

Dozens of demonstrators blocked by police from marching in Louisville, Kentucky, later regrouped on a downtown plaza that’s been a focal point of protests over Breonna Taylor’s death. A leader in the group then urged those remaining to go home.

About 100 people gathered in downtown Jefferson Square on Friday evening. Some chanted “No justice, no peace” and then one of the leaders urged remaining demonstrators to disband, saying “go to a safe place or go home.” Some, but not all, left.

Earlier Friday evening, police halted a protest march with shouted warnings to demonstrators that they should immediately leave or they would be arrested for unlawful assembly. Marchers then retreated and authorities could be seen taking two people into custody.

___

7:45 p.m.

Authorities say a Louisville man has been charged with aiming a laser pointer at a police helicopter during protests over the death of Breonna Taylor.

U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said 25-year-old Manuel Martin Salazarleija Jr. was charged after the incident that Coleman’s office said temporarily blinded two officers and caused them to have headaches that impaired their ability to fly the helicopter.

The criminal complaint says the laser was pointed at the helicopter while the officers were performing surveillance of a vehicle fleeing a drugstore burglary around 12:15 a.m. Friday.

FBI agents located Salazarleija at a residence and interviewed him. Coleman’s office said Salazarleija said he was trying to disrupt the helicopter that he assumed was monitoring the protests.

It was not clear whether Salazarleija was being held Friday or was represented by a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

___

7 p.m.

Police in Louisville, Kentucky, have blocked the route of a Breonna Taylor protest march, warning demonstrators they could face arrest for unlawful assembly. Then marchers began turning around after a tense encounter with helmeted police in riot gear.

Marchers were headed through Louisville’s downtown Friday evening when they came upon a number of police officers lined up near an underpass. Associated Press journalists in Louisville saw — and video showed — some officers firing flash bang devices. Amid ensuiing confusion, marchers pulled back but seemed to remain peaceful.

At least two people could be seen being taken into custody near the underpass in police video streamed online.

Some protesters argued with police that the march was peaceful. Others pleaded with the crowd to take to the sidewalks and retreat. People dispersed in different directions.

It was the third straight night of protests in Louisville since a grand jury decided Wednesday not to charge any police officers for Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police raid gone wrong.

___

6:25 p.m.

An attorney representing Breonna Taylor’s family says she hopes the size and diversity of the crowd marching in Kentucky sends a message to political leaders that demonstrators are serious about demands for change — and won’t stop until they get it.

Attorney Juanita Baker said as she took part in Friday evening’s peaceful march through downtown Louisville that “there is power in numbers.” She added it was a warning to elected officials: “These are the people voting you in or out of office, or who will one day run against you. You better take note.”

Taylor’s face was emblazoned on many T-shirts, face masks and backpacks in the crowd. The police presence in the streets appeared light, hours ahead of a 9 p.m. curfew. Officers did not engage the protesters in any way.

It was the third straight night of protests in Louisville since a grand jury decided Wednesday not to charge any police officers for Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police raid gone wrong.

___

6 p.m.

Demonstrators are marching in Louisville, Kentucky, for the third night of protests since a grand jury decided not to charge any police officers for the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor’s mother and other family members walked at the head of the march Friday evening, which stretched for about a block along a downtown street. The march began hours before a 9 p.m. curfew was to start.

“Say her name, Breonna Taylor,” the protesters chanted, and later, “Whose streets? Our streets!”

Authorities announced Wednesday that a grand jury had decided no officers would be charged in Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police drug raid gone wrong.

___

11:45 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Activists say protests will continue until the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor have been charged.

The comments came at a Friday morning news conference during which family attorney Ben Crump also called for transcripts from the grand jury that decided not to charge any of the officers in Taylor’s death.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced its decision Wednesday.

____

12:20 p.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A prominent activist says people demanding justice for Breonna Taylor need to show their collective strength by voting in the November election.

The Rev. William Barber II is co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and says any political leader refusing to embrace the principle of equal protection under the law should be voted out of office. He said Friday that fundamental rights are being questioned because “those who have been in power know their unrepresentative rule is being challenged.”

Barber says the justice movement has “a rightful place in the sanctuary and in the streets.”

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death.

___

11:35 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A statement from Breonna Taylor’s mother says her daughter was failed by a lack of investigation into her fatal shooting by Louisville police officers in March.

In a statement read by her sister at a Friday news conference, Tamika Palmer said she did not expect justice from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death.

___

11:15 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A not guilty plea has been entered for a man charged with shooting and wounding two police officers in Louisville during protests over the death of Breonna Taylor.

Larynzo Johnson appeared in an orange jumpsuit Friday morning and only spoke when the judge asked if he understood the charges. He replied that he did.

Bond was set at $1 million and the judge appointed a public defender to represent Johnson at his next court date set for Oct. 5.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death in March.

___

11 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor is calling for the Kentucky attorney general to release the transcripts from the grand jury that decided not to charge any of the officers involved in the Black woman’s death.

Speaking Friday in downtown Louisville, Ben Crump said the transcripts should be released so people can know if there was anyone who gave a voice to Taylor.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death in March. Instead, the grand jury brought three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into Taylor’s neighbors’ home.

___

10:05 a.m.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A woman accused of striking a bicyclist with a pickup truck during a protest against racial injustice in downtown Buffalo, New York, was charged Friday.

According to a tweet from Buffalo police, 25-year-old Joanna Gollnau of Buffalo was charged with felony reckless endangerment and reckless driving for striking the bicyclist in Niagara Square during a protest Wednesday night, hours after a grand jury in Kentucky declined to charge Louisville police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.

The 59-year-old victim was hospitalized. The local bicyclist group Slow Roll Buffalo has identified her as board member Karen Huffman. The group said she was in stable condition.

Video of the incident shows the truck driving through the crowd and appearing to speed away. Police haven’t said whether they believe the crash was intentional, as some protesters have asserted.

Niagara Square was the scene of a protest earlier this year in which police officers pushed a 75-year-old man, who fell backward and hit his head on the pavement.

___

9 a.m.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Officials say protesters in Portland have set a fire at a police union building in Oregon’s largest city and that officers arrested 14 people.

Images posted online showed flames outside the doors of the Portland Police Association office. News outlets report the fire was quickly extinguished and police in a statement say the fire was set on plywood attached to the building’s front door.

Police say some protesters managed to get on the roof of the building.

The protest happened a day after several firebombs were hurled at Portland officers during a demonstration over a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to not indict officers in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Portland has had nearly four months of protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

___

6:30 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A fire that erupted overnight at a four-story commercial building in downtown Louisville has been extinguished.

The Louisville Division of Fire said in a Facebook post early Friday that smoke and flames were coming from the boarded up building just after 1:30 a.m. Plywood had been placed over several doors and windows downtown ahead of the Kentucky attorney general’s Wednesday announcement in the Breonna Taylor case.

It took about 70 firefighters around 30 minutes to put out the flames, the agency said. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. It did not appear to be tied to protests. Demonstrators had negotiated with police and largely dispersed just after 11 p.m. Thursday night.

___

1:45 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least 24 people have been arrested in Louisville during the second night of protests over a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officers on criminal charges directly related to the death of Breonna Taylor.

Louisville Metro Police said early Friday that the demonstrators were arrested before 1 a.m. on charges including unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and riot in the first degree.

Authorities alleged the protesters broke windows at a restaurant, damaged city buses, tried to set a fire and threw a flare into the street.

The agency also denied accusations that circulated on social media that officers were waiting for a decision from lawyers about whether they could “storm” a private church property where hundreds of protesters had gathered to avoid arrest after the city’s curfew went into effect.

The protesters disbanded around 11 p.m. Thursday after negotiating with police in riot gear, who also pulled back.

___

1:15 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say at least one person was hurt when a vehicle ran into a small crowd of people protesting police brutality in Los Angeles Thursday night.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange says an ambulance transported one patient to a hospital in unknown condition following the hit-and-run at Sunset Boulevard and Seward Street in Hollywood shortly before 9 p.m. local time (12 a.m. EDT).

About 30 minutes later, KCAL9 TV showed helicopter footage of a white sedan pushing slowly through a crowd of marchers blocking another intersection on Sunset.

A group of protesters in a black pickup truck chased down the white sedan and cut it off. They confronted the driver and banged on the sedan’s windows before the car drove away.

It wasn’t immediately known if anyone was hurt in the second incident.

There were no arrests. Los Angeles Police Officer J. Chavez says investigators are still gathering information about both incidents.

A few dozen demonstrators marched through Hollywood for hours on Thursday, one of many protests across the country demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. Demonstrators were angered after it was announced that the officers who shot the Black woman in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment during a drug raid last March wouldn’t be charged for her death.

___

11:15 p.m.

A protest has ended outside a Louisville church where demonstrators had rallied against a grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case.

Several dozen demonstrators left the First Unitarian Church around 11 p.m. Thursday after a negotiated end to a tense confrontation. Police who had gathered there with riot gear also pulled back.

Several arrests had been made earlier that evening at an intersection outside the church. But there appeared to be no police interference as the protest disbanded.

Demonstrator Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi said she knew several people taken into custody and believes they were arrested unfairly.

“I am not sad, I am angry,” she said, vowing to return downtown Friday to help her friends get out of jail.

The latest demonstrations erupted after the announcement Wednesday that no police officers had been directly charged in the fatal shooting of Taylor. The Black woman was killed during a police raid gone wrong in March.

The March is blocking one of the city’s major intersections downtown. The speaker on the bullhorn is telling them to stand behind the banner because they want the world to see it

cars are blocked by the protest and in one, a woman and two children are hanging from the windows with their fists extended. A little boy said he’s six, then exclaimed “black Lives Matter!”

Drivers of other blocked cars are extending their fists from the windows, both black and white drivers the march is passing by

Some are handing water bottles to the protesters passing by.

The protest is now briefly blocking the intersection that leads onto a downtown bridge that goes to Indiana.

The crowd is diverse and peaceful. Some brought along their dogs for the March

___

HERE’S WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE BREONNA TAYLOR CASE:

Protesters have been marching in Louisville, Kentucky, and other cities after a grand jury decided to bring no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid gone wrong. At a Friday news conference, family attorney Ben Crump called for the release of grand jury transcripts and relatives of Taylor criticized Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. Also Friday, a not guilty plea was entered in court for Larynzo Johnson, who is accused of shooting and wounding two police officers during protests after the grand jury announcement.

Read more:

Black attorney general chokes up during Taylor announcement

-- A timeline of events related to the death of Breonna Taylor

Celebrities decry decision in Breonna Taylor case

Publisher: 2 reporters arrested during Kentucky protests

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

6 p.m.

Demonstrators are marching in Louisville, Kentucky, for the third night of protests since a grand jury decided not to charge any police officers for the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor’s mother and other family members walked at the head of the march Friday evening, which stretched for about a block along a downtown street. The march began hours before a 9 p.m. curfew was to start.

“Say her name, Breonna Taylor,” the protesters chanted, and later, “Whose streets? Our streets!”

Authorities announced Wednesday that a grand jury had decided no officers would be charged in Taylor’s death. The Black woman was killed in March during a police drug raid gone wrong.

___

11:45 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Activists say protests will continue until the Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor have been charged.

The comments came at a Friday morning news conference during which family attorney Ben Crump also called for transcripts from the grand jury that decided not to charge any of the officers in Taylor’s death.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced its decision Wednesday.

____

12:20 p.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A prominent activist says people demanding justice for Breonna Taylor need to show their collective strength by voting in the November election.

The Rev. William Barber II is co-chair of the Poor People’s Campaign and says any political leader refusing to embrace the principle of equal protection under the law should be voted out of office. He said Friday that fundamental rights are being questioned because “those who have been in power know their unrepresentative rule is being challenged.”

Barber says the justice movement has “a rightful place in the sanctuary and in the streets.”

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death.

___

11:35 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A statement from Breonna Taylor’s mother says her daughter was failed by a lack of investigation into her fatal shooting by Louisville police officers in March.

In a statement read by her sister at a Friday news conference, Tamika Palmer said she did not expect justice from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death.

___

11:15 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A not guilty plea has been entered for a man charged with shooting and wounding two police officers in Louisville during protests over the death of Breonna Taylor.

Larynzo Johnson appeared in an orange jumpsuit Friday morning and only spoke when the judge asked if he understood the charges. He replied that he did.

Bond was set at $1 million and the judge appointed a public defender to represent Johnson at his next court date set for Oct. 5.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death in March.

___

11 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor is calling for the Kentucky attorney general to release the transcripts from the grand jury that decided not to charge any of the officers involved in the Black woman’s death.

Speaking Friday in downtown Louisville, Ben Crump said the transcripts should be released so people can know if there was anyone who gave a voice to Taylor.

Protesters have taken to the streets around the country after the grand jury announced Wednesday that no officers would be charged in Taylor’s shooting death in March. Instead, the grand jury brought three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into Taylor’s neighbors’ home.

___

10:05 a.m.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — A woman accused of striking a bicyclist with a pickup truck during a protest against racial injustice in downtown Buffalo, New York, was charged Friday.

According to a tweet from Buffalo police, 25-year-old Joanna Gollnau of Buffalo was charged with felony reckless endangerment and reckless driving for striking the bicyclist in Niagara Square during a protest Wednesday night, hours after a grand jury in Kentucky declined to charge Louisville police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.

The 59-year-old victim was hospitalized. The local bicyclist group Slow Roll Buffalo has identified her as board member Karen Huffman. The group said she was in stable condition.

Video of the incident shows the truck driving through the crowd and appearing to speed away. Police haven’t said whether they believe the crash was intentional, as some protesters have asserted.

Niagara Square was the scene of a protest earlier this year in which police officers pushed a 75-year-old man, who fell backward and hit his head on the pavement.

___

9 a.m.

PORTLAND, Ore. -- Officials say protesters in Portland have set a fire at a police union building in Oregon’s largest city and that officers arrested 14 people.

Images posted online showed flames outside the doors of the Portland Police Association office. News outlets report the fire was quickly extinguished and police in a statement say the fire was set on plywood attached to the building’s front door.

Police say some protesters managed to get on the roof of the building.

The protest happened a day after several firebombs were hurled at Portland officers during a demonstration over a Kentucky grand jury’s decision to not indict officers in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. Portland has had nearly four months of protests over racial injustice and police brutality.

___

6:30 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A fire that erupted overnight at a four-story commercial building in downtown Louisville has been extinguished.

The Louisville Division of Fire said in a Facebook post early Friday that smoke and flames were coming from the boarded up building just after 1:30 a.m. Plywood had been placed over several doors and windows downtown ahead of the Kentucky attorney general's Wednesday announcement in the Breonna Taylor case.

It took about 70 firefighters around 30 minutes to put out the flames, the agency said. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. It did not appear to be tied to protests. Demonstrators had negotiated with police and largely dispersed just after 11 p.m. Thursday night.

___

1:45 a.m.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least 24 people have been arrested in Louisville during the second night of protests over a grand jury’s decision not to indict police officers on criminal charges directly related to the death of Breonna Taylor.

Louisville Metro Police said early Friday that the demonstrators were arrested before 1 a.m. on charges including unlawful assembly, failure to disperse and riot in the first degree.

Authorities alleged the protesters broke windows at a restaurant, damaged city buses, tried to set a fire and threw a flare into the street.

The agency also denied accusations that circulated on social media that officers were waiting for a decision from lawyers about whether they could “storm” a private church property where hundreds of protesters had gathered to avoid arrest after the city’s curfew went into effect.

The protesters disbanded around 11 p.m. Thursday after negotiating with police in riot gear, who also pulled back.

___

1:15 a.m.

LOS ANGELES — Authorities say at least one person was hurt when a vehicle ran into a small crowd of people protesting police brutality in Los Angeles Thursday night.

Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson Nicholas Prange says an ambulance transported one patient to a hospital in unknown condition following the hit-and-run at Sunset Boulevard and Seward Street in Hollywood shortly before 9 p.m. local time (12 a.m. EDT).

About 30 minutes later, KCAL9 TV showed helicopter footage of a white sedan pushing slowly through a crowd of marchers blocking another intersection on Sunset.

A group of protesters in a black pickup truck chased down the white sedan and cut it off. They confronted the driver and banged on the sedan’s windows before the car drove away.

It wasn’t immediately known if anyone was hurt in the second incident.

There were no arrests. Los Angeles Police Officer J. Chavez says investigators are still gathering information about both incidents.

A few dozen demonstrators marched through Hollywood for hours on Thursday, one of many protests across the country demanding justice for Breonna Taylor. Demonstrators were angered after it was announced that the officers who shot the Black woman in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment during a drug raid last March wouldn’t be charged for her death.

___

11:15 p.m.

A protest has ended outside a Louisville church where demonstrators had rallied against a grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case.

Several dozen demonstrators left the First Unitarian Church around 11 p.m. Thursday after a negotiated end to a tense confrontation. Police who had gathered there with riot gear also pulled back.

Several arrests had been made earlier that evening at an intersection outside the church. But there appeared to be no police interference as the protest disbanded.

Demonstrator Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi said she knew several people taken into custody and believes they were arrested unfairly.

“I am not sad, I am angry,” she said, vowing to return downtown Friday to help her friends get out of jail.

The latest demonstrations erupted after the announcement Wednesday that no police officers had been directly charged in the fatal shooting of Taylor. The Black woman was killed during a police raid gone wrong in March.

By The Associated Press 26 September 2020, 12:00AM

Trending Stories

Samoa Observer

Upgrade to Premium

Subscribe to
Samoa Observer Online

Enjoy unlimited access to all our articles on any device + free trial to e-Edition. You can cancel anytime.

>