Anti-police rioters, identified by journalists as allegedly being Black Lives Matter and Antifa extremists, attacked law enforcement officials in Louisville, Kentucky, on Wednesday night who were putting out fires that the rioters had started.
The riots broke out after a grand jury declined on Wednesday to charge three police officers with the death of Breonna Taylor, who died during a raid earlier this year. One of the officers was charged with three counts of “wanton endangerment” for recklessly firing his weapon during the raid.
Journalists shared videos of the violence that broke out in Louisville later in the day, which included alleged Black Lives Matter activists setting fire to a courthouse in Louisville.
Videos showed law enforcement officials moving in to put out the fires. One officer was struck by a projectile that was thrown at them and was knocked the ground. The officers were then pelted with various projectiles thrown by the violent rioters.
WATCH:
Earlier today: Black Lives Matter activists set fire to the courthouse in Louisville. https://t.co/WDkMRrULOD
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 24, 2020
Earlier today: Black Lives Matter activists set fire to the courthouse in Louisville. pic.twitter.com/gLsXH9BfDk
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 24, 2020
BLM-antifa rioters in Louisville attack officers putting out the fires on the Hall of Justice. Rioters throw projectiles at them. One officer is hit in the head and knocked to the ground. #BLM https://t.co/x9ozmo27CD
— Andy Ngô 🏳️🌈 (@MrAndyNgo) September 24, 2020
One person shouted at Louisville police, “All y’all get ready to fucking die!” pic.twitter.com/dTHVDeKjCT
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 23, 2020
The protesting BLM crowd is now marching through the streets of Louisville. They have chanted, “No lives matter till black lives matter!” pic.twitter.com/f3qJPNjwxt
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 23, 2020
Police are starting to crack down on the BLM marchers in Louisville. People started to scatter. pic.twitter.com/rXS3yqXtQp
— Julio Rosas (@Julio_Rosas11) September 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/livesmattershow/status/1308935637278568448
https://twitter.com/livesmattershow/status/1308945406190116864
Louisville: After heavy non lethal munitions deployed on BLM agitators
The BLM march flees in fear pic.twitter.com/YdYbncvekH
— Drew Hernandez (@DrewHLive) September 24, 2020
Multiple police officers were shot during the violent rioting, including one who, according to local police officials, was “alert and stable” and another who was “undergoing surgery and stable.”
Interim Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Robert Schroeder said: “I am very concerned about the safety of our officers. I think the safety of our officers and the community we serve is of utmost importance.”
Kentucky Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron held a press conference earlier in the day where he discussed the grand jury’s decision.
“What I can provide today are the facts, which my office has worked long and hard to uncover, analyze, and scrutinize since accepting this case in mid May,” Cameron said. “I urge everyone listening today to not lose sight of the fact that a life has been lost—a tragedy under any circumstances. The decision before my office as the special prosecutor in this case was not to decide if the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life was a tragedy. The answer to that question is unequivocally yes. There is no doubt that this is a gut-wrenching, emotional case, and the pain that many people are feeling is understandable. I deeply care about the value and sanctity of human life. It deserves protection. And in this case, a human life was lost. We cannot forget that.”
“My job as the special prosecutor in this case was to put emotions aside and investigate the facts to determine if criminal violations of state law resulted in the loss of Ms. Taylor’s life,” Cameron continued. “This included examining the actions of Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Brett Hankison, and Detective Myles Cosgrove, the three officers who fired their weapons in the early morning hours of March 13th. In working with our federal partners on this case, it was determined that while we would share information to advance our respective investigations, we must also maintain some level of separation to ensure the integrity of each investigation. When examining issues regarding potential civil rights violations, we determined that any such violations are better addressed through a federal-led investigation, and issues involving potential criminal acts concerning the shooting are better addressed by a state-led investigation. With this in mind, our investigation focused on the events that took place in Ms. Taylor’s apartment on March 13th. In the months since taking this case, [our] dedicated team of prosecutors and investigators with more than 200 years of combined career experience conducted a thorough investigation to better understand the events that led to Ms. Taylor’s death. The team is here with me today. I want to personally and publicly thank them for their tireless work. These men and women are true public servants, who for months have shown up every day with a desire for one thing, and that is to seek the truth. We decided while we would examine materials gathered by LMPD’s public integrity unit, we would need to conduct our own independent investigation and start from scratch in the interest of thoroughness, fairness, and finding the truth.”
“There was no video or body camera footage of the officers’ attempted execution of a search warrant at Ms. Taylor’s residence,” Cameron continued. “Video footage begins at the point that area patrol officers arrive at the location. Therefore, the sequence of events from March 13th had to be pieced together through ballistics evidence, 911 calls, police radio traffic, and interviews. We utilized information from the Kentucky State Police, local medical examiners, as well as working with the FBI crime lab in Quantico to secure a trajectory analysis and ballistics report. Our team conducted interviews in this case and spent thousands of hours examining all of the available evidence. We concluded our last interview in this case this past Friday and began our grand jury presentation on Monday.”
This article has been updated to include additional information.
