NATIONWIDE — People protesting a grand jury’s decision not to indict any police officers directly for the fatal shooting of a Black woman in Kentucky have rallied in such U.S. cities as New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Columbus, Ohio, and Philadelphia.
It appeared marches and gatherings in those cities were mostly peaceful Wednesday evening.
Wanton Endangerment charges were filed against the former Louisville Metro Police Department officer Brett Hankison in the March shooting that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, a judge announced Wednesday afternoon.
Jefferson County Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell announced the findings of the Jefferson County Grand Jury. Three counts of 1st degree wanton endangerment for Hankison. It appears none of those charges involve shooting Breonna Taylor, the charges are related to shots fired into neighboring apartments.
None of the officers face charges in connection with the death of Taylor.
The outpouring came on a night when hundreds gathered in Louisville, Kentucky, to protest a grand jury’s decision to not indict officers on criminal charges directly related to the shooting death of Breonna Taylor in a police narcotics raid gone bad.
Louisville Metro Police Dept confirmed an officer was shot in Louisville. It’s not clear if it happened during the protests and no other details were immediately released.
Scuffles have broken out between police and protesters, and some were arrested. Officers in riot gear fired flash bangs and a few small fires burned in a square that’s been at the center of protests, but it had largely cleared out ahead of a nighttime curfew and demonstrators marched through other parts of downtown Louisville. Dozens of police cars blocked the city’s major thoroughfare.
Demonstrators packed a New York City plaza. Chanting “Say her name, Breonna Taylor,” the crowd then started marching in downtown Brooklyn, past onlookers and honking cars. They were accompanied by musicians, setting a steady drum beat.
News outlet CNN showed marchers in Philadelphia, and a video posted to Twitter posted by a WJLA reporter in the Washington, D.C., area showed protesters marching in the nation’s capital chanting “Black Lives Matter!”
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden says he hasn’t received enough information on the grand jury’s decision in the Breonna Taylor case to comment fully, but he urged protesters to keep their demonstrations peaceful.
Hundreds have gathered in Louisville to protest the grand jury’s decision to not indict police officers on criminal charges directly related to Taylor’s death.
Speaking to reporters on a tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday evening, Biden said he hoped to find out more details soon about the Taylor case and said “my heart goes out to her mother.”
“Do not sully her memory or her mother’s by engaging in any violence. It’s totally inappropriate for that to happen,” Biden said. “She wouldn’t want it, nor would her mother, so I hope they do that.”
President Trump praised Kentucky’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron for his handling of the Breonna Taylor case just hours after it was announced that no officers would face charges related to Taylor’s death.
During a press conference at the White House, the president praised Cameron’s work on the case, saying, “He’s handling it very well.” The president also quoted Cameron’s address where the attorney general said in part, “mob justice is not justice,” calling Cameron’s words “really brilliant.”
This is a developing story. Check back later for further updates. The Associated Press contribued to this report.