Senior Citizens Protest to Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor

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Cameron has declined to put a timetable on deciding whether to bring charges. He has said he’s waiting for information on ballistics tests being conducted by the FBI.

Protesters have gathered previously outside Cameron’s home and at Kentucky’s Capitol in Frankfort to demand justice for Taylor.

On Thursday, one protester outside Cameron’s home was arrested on a misdemeanor criminal trespass charge and six others were given citations, said Grady Throneberry, police chief for Graymoor-Devondale, a suburban city outside Louisville.

“They were all told that they could move to the street, stay on the side of the street, as long as they didn’t impede traffic and that would be fine,” the chief said. “But they had to leave the lawn.”

Holden, was arrested after she declined to leave, he said.

John Mills, a deputy police chief, told The Courier Journal that six people who received citations for criminal trespassing moved off the lawn.

Holden later said she had avoided mass protests demanding justice for Breonna Taylor because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Holden has a preexisting health condition.

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“I took a risk today because sometimes ideals are more important than health,” she said.

The senior citizens wore masks during their sit-in, Holden said. She was not handcuffed by police and “camped out” by a hand sanitizer dispenser during her booking, she said.

Lockhart, a retired school teacher, said she was among those cited. The protesters planned to sit silently for an hour and then leave, but police arrived quickly, she said.

“We felt like elderly white people standing up for justice, for Black families and Black people was worth the risk of arrest, the risk of being cited,” Lockhart said.

Some legal experts have said prosecutors might face significant obstacles to bringing homicide-related charges against the officers.

Taylor’s boyfriend was with her at the apartment and fired a shot at a police officer after the door was broken down.

The officer was struck in the leg and returned fire, along with other officers outside the apartment. Taylor was unarmed. 

(Writer: Bruce Schreiner) 

Source: https://apnews.com/019f6eaeb1f2c7b8fcaa95f9bc8a5ff3