With only one of the police officers involved in the police murder of Breonna Taylor of Louisville indicted – and not for her murder but for shooting into a different apartment – angry protests broke out, once again, coast to coast, in American cities.
From Louisville to Atlanta, to New York City, to Washington DC, to Chicago, to Los Angeles and even to San Diego, thousands of young people marched and demonstrated in the streets.
127 people were arrested overnight in Louisville and two police officers were wounded. Two reporters were among those arrested.
Ten people were arrested near police headquarters in downtown San Diego during the protest Wednesday night. The rally had involved hundreds and began around 7 pm near the corner of 8th and B streets, and protesters marched along Broadway. Around 10:15 p.m San Diego Police declared it an unlawful assembly because of “acts of violence and vandalism … in front of (police) headquarters.” Apparently, someone tried to lower the flags outside the station but officers thwarted that move.
In Seattle on Wednesday, one police officer was struck in the head with a bat, and a video circulated of another officer riding a bike over a person’s head during protests Wednesday over the charging decision in Taylor’s killing. Police also said someone threw an explosive device through a gate of the department’s East Precinct while others cut wires powering the precinct’s security cameras. When officers tried to arrest the person who threw the explosive, police said they were “assaulted with bottles and rocks;” police responded with pepper spray and blast balls — hand grenades — ; some protesters set dumpsters on fire and threw explosives at officers as they moved through the streets. Multiple officers were hurt and 13 people were arrested. No word on how many demonstrators were injured.
In Buffalo, New York, a pickup truck drove through a group of protesters, striking one of them, police said. A crowd of demonstrators had gathered outside Buffalo City Hall to protest the decision in Louisville not to indict any of the officers for the death of Breonna Taylor. Videos posted to social media show a truck accelerating through a crowd of people at Niagara Square. When the truck hit a person on a bicycle, a loud thud could be heard, followed by shrieks from distressed protesters. Demonstrators chased after the vehicle as it sped away from the scene.
Hundreds of people protested the grand jury decision on the Breonna Taylor case in downtown Washington Wednesday night. The demonstration was mostly peaceful, but at about 9:30 p.m., some protesters broke windows and turned over newspaper boxes as the march turned into more residential neighborhoods
Also in Portland, Oregon, over 300 demonstrators blocked off the street in front of the Portland Police Bureau’s headquarters Wednesday night, shouting Breonna Taylor’s name and proclaiming, “Black lives matter.” The demonstration took place despite a cold rain that drenched protesters. Portland Police declared a riot after protestors threw molotov cocktails, rocks, broke windows and lit fires. Police fired tear gas at protesters in Atlanta. There were also protests in Nashville and Philadelphia. Washington Post
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I think it’s safe to say we are on the brink of civil war and may have to resign ourselves to the idea that it’s inevitable (but I hope to be wrong). Lack of accountability for LE is only going to ignite more aggressive protests and more riots (and more police officers to be attacked) which is only going to prompt LE to become more aggressive and reckless. A catch 22 that has reached a point where it no longer matters who’s at fault or who the victim is. I don’t have an answer. I’m not going to compromise my views simply for the sake of making peace with the other side and I don’t expect them to either.