{"id":1501,"date":"2020-09-24T13:31:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T13:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/?p=1501"},"modified":"2020-09-24T13:31:58","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T13:31:58","slug":"2-louisville-officers-shot-amid-breonna-taylor-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/?p=1501","title":{"rendered":"2 Louisville officers shot amid Breonna Taylor protests"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) \u2014 Hours after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for Breonna Taylor\u2019s death and protesters took to the streets, authorities said two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrations expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said a suspect was in custody but did not offer details about whether that person was participating in the demonstrations. He says both officers are expected to recover, and one is undergoing surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He says the officers were shot after investigating reports of gunfire at an intersection where there was a large crowd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several shots rang out as protesters in downtown Louisville tried to avoid police blockades, moving down an alleyway as officers lobbed pepper balls, according to an Associated Press journalist. People covered their ears, ran away and frantically looked for places to hide. Police with long guns swarmed the area, then officers in riot gear and military-style vehicles blocked off roadways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The violence comes after prosecutors said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire from her boyfriend. The only charges were three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into a home next to Taylor\u2019s with people inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed-twitter wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The FBI Louisville SWAT team has responded to an LMPD officer being shot and will continue to assist in the investigation.<\/p>&mdash; FBI Louisville (@FBILouisville) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/FBILouisville\/status\/1308934715198648321?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 24, 2020<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The FBI is still investigating potential violations of federal law in connection with the raid at Taylor\u2019s home on March 13.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ben Crump, a lawyer for Taylor\u2019s family, denounced the decision as \u201coutrageous and offensive,\u201d and protesters shouting, \u201cNo justice, no peace!\u201d immediately marched through the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scuffles broke out between police and protesters, and some were arrested. Officers fired flash bangs and a few small fires burned in a square that\u2019s been at the center of protests, but it had largely cleared out ahead of a nighttime curfew as demonstrators marched through other parts of downtown Louisville. Dozens of patrol cars blocked the city\u2019s major thoroughfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Demonstrators also marched in cities like New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Philadelphia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home during a narcotics investigation. State Attorney General Daniel Cameron said that while the officers had a no-knock warrant, the investigation showed they announced themselves before entering. The warrant used to search her home was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Along with the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota, Taylor\u2019s case became a major touchstone for nationwide protests that have drawn attention to entrenched racism and demanded police reform. Taylor\u2019s image has been painted on streets, emblazoned on protest signs and silk-screened on T-shirts worn by celebrities. Several prominent African American celebrities joined those urging that the officers be charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The announcement drew sadness, frustration and anger that the grand jury did not go further. The wanton endangerment charges each carry a sentence of up to five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Morgan Julianna Lee, a high school student in Charlotte, North Carolina, watched the announcement at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s almost like a slap in the face,\u201d the 15-year-old said by phone. \u201cIf I, as a Black woman, ever need justice, I will never get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, said he authorized a limited deployment of the National Guard. He also urged Cameron, the state attorney general, to post online all the evidence that could be released without affecting the charges filed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThose that are currently feeling frustration, feeling hurt, they deserve to know more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The case exposed the wide gulf between public opinion on justice for those who kill Black Americans and the laws under which those officers are charged, which regularly favor police and do not often result in steep criminal accusations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a news conference, Cameron spoke to that disconnect: \u201cCriminal law is not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cBut my heart breaks for the loss of Miss Taylor. &#8230; My mother, if something was to happen to me, would find it very hard,\u201d he added, choking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Cameron, who is the state\u2019s first Black attorney general, said the officers acted in self-defense after Taylor\u2019s boyfriend fired at them. He added that Hankison and the two other officers who entered Taylor\u2019s apartment announced themselves before entering \u2014 and so did not execute the warrant as \u201cno knock,\u201d according to the investigation. The city has since banned such warrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAccording to Kentucky law, the use of force by (Officers Jonathan) Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,\u201d he said. \u201cThis justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor\u2019s death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cameron said an FBI crime lab determined that Cosgrove fired the bullet that killed Taylor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Taylor\u2019s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police burst in, hitting Mattingly. Walker told police he heard knocking but didn\u2019t know who was coming in and fired in self-defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cameron, who is a Republican, is a prot\u00e9g\u00e9 of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and has been tagged by some as his heir apparent. His was also one of 20 names on President Donald Trump\u2019s list to fill a future Supreme Court vacancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At a news conference, Trump read a statement from Cameron, saying \u201cjustice is not often easy.\u201d He later tweeted that he was \u201cpraying for the two police officers that were shot.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, are calling for policing reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Biden says that while a federal investigation continues, \u201cwe do not need to wait for the final judgment of that investigation to do more to deliver justice for Breonna.\u201d He said the country should start by addressing excessive force, banning chokeholds and overhauling no-knock warrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe must never stop speaking Breonna\u2019s name as we work to reform our justice system, including overhauling no-knock warrants,\u201d Harris said on Twitter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hankison was fired on June 23. A termination letter sent by interim Louisville Police Chief Robert Schroeder said he had violated procedures by showing \u201cextreme indifference to the value of human life\u201d when he \u201cwantonly and blindly\u201d fired his weapon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mattingly, Cosgrove and the detective who sought the warrant, Joshua Jaynes, were placed administrative reassignment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, the city settled a lawsuit against the three officers brought by Taylor\u2019s mother, Tamika Palmer, agreeing to pay her $12 million and enact police reforms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>___<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lovan reported from Frankfort, Kentucky. Associated Press writers Claire Galofaro, Bruce Schreiner and Rebecca Reynolds Yonker in Louisville, Kentucky, Kevin Freking in Washington, Aaron Morrison in New York and Haleluya Hadero in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, contribute<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hudsbeth Blackburn is a corps member for the Associated Press\/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>___<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This story has been updated to clarify that, according to the investigation, officers did not execute the warrant as a no-knock warrant, not that they didn\u2019t use a no-knock warrant. It also has been edited to clarify that the shots fired by Hankison entered another home with people inside, not several homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) \u2014 Hours after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for Breonna Taylor\u2019s death and protesters took to the streets, authorities said two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrations expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police. Interim Louisville Police [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1501","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-to-know"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/112252592_image.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1501"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1503,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1501\/revisions\/1503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wtibfm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}