By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
Breonna Taylor
For six months, protestors across the country have been demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was fatally shot by the police, and earlier this week, a grand jury delivered its answer.
Taylor was shot in her Louisville apartment by the police on evening of Friday, March 13. The officers broke down the door and entered Taylor’s home, thinking it belonged to a drug dealer. Taylor’s boyfriend, thinking it was an intruder, fired a “warning shot” according to AP News. In response, the police fired back and hit Taylor six times, eventually killing her.
On Wednesday, Sept. 24, a grand jury decided the fate of the three officers involved in the shooting. In the end, none of the officers involved were charged with Taylor’s death.
Brett Hankison, a detective with the force who was fired for his actions taken during the raid, was indicted for wanton endangerment. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Det. Myles Cosgrove were not indicted.
Kentucky Attorney Gen. Daniel Cameron argued that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in shooting because Taylor’s boyfriend shot first, according to CNN. Hankison was placed in Shelby County Jail and posted a $15,000 bond, according to CNN, and was later released.
Taylor’s death was met with outrage and in the midst of the Black Lives Matter movement, her name became a rallying cry. Protestors across the country demanded “Justice for Breonna.” In May, the FBI’s Louisville office announced it was opening an investigation into the case, per CNN.
Given the attention the case received, many hoped justice would be served, but as the Louisville officers began setting up barricades and the like, many anticipated the worse.
After the grand jury’s announcement was made, many protestors took to the streets including here in Milwaukee.
Protestors met outside the Milwaukee County Courthouse and later marched through the streets and onto I-94. According to WISN12, the group eventually made its way toward the mural of Taylor, depicted at North Holton Street and East Locust Street. The group waved flags painted American with the letters BLM and strung them on a flagpole. Some protestors also burned an American flag, WISN12 reported.
According to the Journal Sentinel, protestors could be heard chanting, “The whole damn system is guilty as hell.” And “Say her name” followed by “Breonna Taylor.”
The Journal Sentinel reported that a group of protestors marched along the interstate as cars followed behind. Some of the leaders and protestors are a part of the group the People’s Revolution.
On Thursday, Sept. 24, TMJ4 reported that Marquette University’s Black Student Council led a group of protestors to the Milwaukee County Courthouse via Wisconsin Avenue.
As rallies and protests continue across the country, the message remains the same: justice was not served.