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Police Make Arrests, Declare Unlawful Assembly During Breonna Taylor Protest in Louisville

Police declared an “unlawful assembly” and arrested protesters in Louisville on September 23. According to local reports, “about 200” demonstrators had taken to the streets after the indictments in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor were announced.

Former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officer Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree; his bond was set at $15,000. Hankison was fired from the police force on June 23 for his role in the shooting death of Taylor.

Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and detective Myles Cosgrove, the other two officers who fired their weapons while trying to serve a search warrant on Taylor’s apartment in the early hours of March 13, were not charged.

The LMPD declared a state of emergency on Monday in preparation for the grand jury announcement and canceled officers’ vacation and planned leave “until further notice,” reports said.

Footage from the protest shows officers in riot gear detaining protesters. One woman can be heard telling an officer “don’t touch me.” Other footage from the same protest shows demonstrators riding atop LMPD vehicles.

According to a journalist at the scene, police declared the demonstration an “unlawful assembly” and threatened protesters with “chemical agents and arrests.” Credit: Brendan Gutenschwager via Storyful