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Another Wave of Riots? Louisville Declares State of Emergency Prior to Breonna Taylor Announcement

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  September 21, 2020 8:25 PM

There will be an announcement in the Breonna Taylor case. No one knows what will happen, but local police aren’t taking any chances. They’ve canceled vacations for officers, declared a state of emergency, and have begun setting up barricades throughout the city in anticipation of coming unrest. The grand jury is supposedly close to a decision (via NY Post):

Louisville police have declared a state of emergency as the Kentucky city braces for a grand jury decision on the fate of three cops involved in the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

Acting Police Chief Robert Schroeder said Monday that days off and vacation requests for all Louisville Metro Police Department personnel are canceled until further notice pending state Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement on whether the cops involved in the March shooting will face criminal charges.

“To ensure we have the appropriate level of staffing to provide for public safety services and our policing functions, effective immediately the LMPD will operate under the emergency staffing and reporting guidelines as outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures, Emergency Response Plan, and collective bargaining agreements until further notice,” Schroeder said in a memo.

Police Sgt. Lamont Washington added that “the public may also see barriers being staged around downtown, which is another part of our preparations,” WDRB-TV reported.

In March, Taylor was killed in her sleep when police tried to execute a no-knock warrant. Her ex-boyfriend was suspected of being part of a drug operation. Kenneth Walker, who was Taylor's boyfriend at the time reportedly heard nothing when officers rammed his door and opened fire on them with his firearm. Officers returned fire, striking Taylor eight times. No drugs or money were found in the apartment, according to ABC News, who recently announced that the officers involved in the raid are under an internal investigation:

Six Louisville Metro Police officers are under an internal investigation into their actions related to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a police spokesman told ABC News.

The department's Professional Standards Unit has begun its probe into Det. Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who fired their weapons into Taylor's apartment on March 13; Det. Joshua Jaynes, who sought the search warrant for her apartment; and Det. Tony James, Det. Michael Campbell and Det. Michael Nobles, according to spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington.

[…]

Taylor, 26, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping inside their Louisville apartment when three plainclothes officers -- Mattingly, Cosgrove and Det. Brett Hankison -- attempted to execute a "no-knock" search warrant. The officers were investigating a suspected drug operation linked to Taylor's ex-boyfriend.

Walker said he received no response from the other side of the door when he called out after the officers rammed the door.

Walker took his licensed firearm and shot at the door, and the officers returned fire, striking Taylor eight times and killing her in her sleep, according to investigators. 

Taylor’s death, coupled with the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked a wave of new Black Lives Matter activism that devolved into non-stop rioting that lasted throughout the summer. The left-wing riots were the costliest in American history.  

***

UPDATE: The initial report of a no-knock warrant was put to rest today. Police did identify themselves. 

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Editor’s Note: Got Taylor’s boyfriends mixed up regarding the search warrant. Apologies for the error folks.