LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Chants of “End white silence,” and “Say her name,” filled the roundabout at the now-former site of the John B. Castleman Statue.
Members and supporters of Black Lives Matter Louisville gathered Thursday afternoon demanding justice for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police officers.
Early Monday morning the controversial statue was removed from its prominent location in the Cherokee Triangle neighborhood. The city is now facing additional criticism for the timing of the removal as many residents ask for answers in the Taylor case.
Organizers of Thursday’s rally equate the removal of the Confederate statue to an inadequate "peace offering."
One speaker said Thursday, “There was no safety for Breonna Taylor in the sanctity of her own home. Her removal from this life was not nice. It was brutal.”
No one has been charged in the death of 26-year-old EMT tech who died from shots fired by police during the execution of a no-knock warrant.
On Wednesday LMPD released an incident report from the night of Taylor’s death which lists her injuries as, “none,” though she was shot eight times. “It’s definitely problematic for so much information to be missing from the report that was released,” said one man.
On Wednesday, in response to the LMPD report, Mayor Greg Fischer posted this message on Facebook.
It read in part, “This is unacceptable. Full stop. It’s issues like this that erode public confidence in LMPD’s ability to do its job, and that’s why I’ve ordered an external top-to-bottom review of the department.”