Breonna Taylor was shot dead by police during a botched raid in Louisville, Kentucky on March 13, 2020
Thousands joined marches across the country to commemorate the first anniversary of her death Saturday
Protesters took to the streets to demanded police reform and an end to racial injustice
While a majority of the demonstrations were peaceful, some spiraled out of control
In LA, two demonstrators were seen smashing the hood of a cop car before it accelerated 'running them over'
There were also reports of vandalism to several businesses in the Hollywood area
Cops clashed with protesters in Seattle and Portland and in New York, one bystander was left injured after a protester smashed up the outdoor seating area of a restaurant
An unlawful assembly was declared by police in Louisville after armed protesters blocked traffic
An arson investigation is underway after the fire in a vacant Louisville church several blocks from the protests
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African-American woman, was fatally shot in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment on March 13, 2020, when white plainclothes officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove of the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) forced entry into the apartment as part of an investigation into drug dealing operations. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was inside the apartment with her when the officers knocked on the door and then forced entry. Officers said that they announced themselves as police before forcing entry, but Walker said he did not hear any announcement, thought the officers were intruders and fired an at them. According to officials, it hit Mattingly in the leg, and the officers fired 32 shots in return. Walker was unhurt but Taylor was hit by six bullets and died. According to police, Taylor's home was never searched.
On June 23, 2020, the LMPD fired Hankison for blindly firing through the covered patio door and window of Taylor's apartment. On September 15, the city of Louisville agreed to pay Taylor's family $12 million and reform police practices. On September 23, a state grand jury indicted Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment for endangering Taylor's neighbors with his shots. None of the officers involved in the raid has been charged with Taylor's death. Cosgrove was determined to have fired the fatal shot that killed Taylor. On October 2, 2020, recordings from the grand jury investigation into the shooting were released. Two of the jurors released a statement saying that the grand jury was not presented with homicide charges against the officers.[ Several jurors have also accused Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the police of covering up what happened.
The shooting of Taylor by police officers led to numerous protests that added to those across the United States against police brutality and racism. When a grand jury did not indict the officers for her death, further civil unrest ensued.
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