LYNN — Demonstrators gathered at Red Rock Park Saturday to protest the lack of charges brought against officers involved in the killing of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot after detectives served a no-knock warrant at her Louisville apartment in March.
Taking place just one day after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron released 15 hours of audio recorded as jurors reviewed evidence in Taylor’s case, several of Saturday’s nearly 50 protestors said they were there to further public conversation about law enforcement’s treatment of Black Americans.
“We talk about Breonna Taylor and the injustice that she suffered, (but) so many other women are not named are in that same position, and we need to make sure that across the country, we are amplifying their voices and saying that we aren’t going to ignore this, that it’s not going away,” said demonstrator Adriana Paz. “We want justice.”
This weekend’s event was the latest in a string of demonstrations to erupt following a grand jury’s Sept. 23 decision to not indict any officers in Taylor’s death.
Only Brett Hankison — one of three detectives who executed the no-knock warrant on Taylor’s apartment as part of a drug investigation — was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the home of Taylor’s neighbor as the incident took place.
“It was a verdict that wasn’t for her. It was for the wall of a neighbor,” Paz said of her reaction to the jury’s finding. “That’s just a slap in the face and just one more reason why we have to continue having these demonstrations, because Black women aren’t valued.”
As widespread protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement reach their fifth month, some questions have been raised about the necessity of such persistent demonstrations.
However, Neil Whittredge, who helped organize the protest at Red Rock Park on behalf of Lynn organization Diverse People United — which he says is part of a coalition advocating for a non-lethal emergency response team for non-violent dispatch calls, a police review board, and body cameras to be worn by Lynn officers — said demonstrations help keep the movement’s momentum alive.
“There are plenty who are aware of what’s going on, but we want to continually implore people to act and create change — not simply marching in the streets, but we’re doing this as a drive to change policies,” he said. “That’s why we want to build this momentum.”
Whittredge mentioned there will be a hearing on Oct. 24 about police reform in Lynn — another reason, he said, why he wanted to keep the momentum of the movement.
For her part, Paz said she thought the publication of the jury tapes was a step in the right direction.
Releasing audio and other evidence in cases such as Taylor’s could bring an element of transparency to the judicial process, she added.
“I’m glad (the tapes) were released. We need to know that there’s truth and transparency all around,” she said. “When you have things (done behind) closed doors, people feel safe to do what they want. They may have done the right thing, they might not (have), but if you release it, we’ll find out for ourselves.
