Our live coverage of the Breonna Taylor protests has ended for the day. Read a wrap of Thursday’s events here.
Speaking after Game 4 of the Western Conference finals on Thursday, LeBron James was asked about Breonna Taylor and how emotional the past 24 hours have been.
“Very heavy,” James said. “The emotions are very high. I mean, we have a teammate on our team that’s from Louisville … As heavy as it’s been on us, it’s even heavier on him because that’s his hometown.”
“I mean, I got a daughter of mine at home and a wife and my mom, so many predominant Black women in my life. To think about if they weren’t here the next day or think if they were gunned down, it would be something I would never be able to forgive myself or forgive who did it.”
James added that, “we’re here playing this game and it’s very challenging on us, it’s very difficult, but at the same time our hearts are with that family, with that city.”
“It’s just so unjust what’s going on,” the NBA star said. “Sorry to be so longwinded. It’s a tragedy. We just hope that there’s better days, you know. And you hope for better days and you spread love and not hate, because that’s what it all boils down to.”
Two journalists with The Daily Caller, a conservative online news outlet based in Washington, DC, were arrested late Wednesday night while covering the protests in Kentucky, one of the reporters told CNN Thursday.
Daily Caller reporters Jorge Ventura and Shelby Talcott were trailing a group of protesters after the 9 p.m. ET curfew when officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department allegedly began firing rubber bullets at the crowd, Ventura said.
Soon after, they and Kentucky State Police ordered everyone in the protest to get down on the ground, Ventura said. He added that he and Talcott showed the officers their press credentials and Talcott began communicating with their editor-in-chief, Geoffrey Ingersoll, before they were arrested with zip ties.
Ventura said the protest was outside the jail where they were eventually held. Soon after arriving, Ventura said one of the superior officers came in from another room asking him to confirm his identity and press affiliation, which Ventura said he did. The officer then told Ventura he was going to go speak to his editor – who was on the line – about the situation, but when the officer came back, Ventura said he was told he would still be charged and held overnight.
Charging documents obtained by CNN show that Ventura was officially charged with failing to obey a local county ordinance and failure to disperse, both of which are misdemeanors, according to what Ventura was told.
Ventura said he and Talcott were eventually separated into adjacent male and female holding cells, and they could only communicate by eye contact.
Ventura said he was told he would be released “no later than 6:30 in the morning,” Thursday but says he wasn’t out until 1 p.m., and still among the first of those detained to leave. He said he was detained in a holding cell with around 40 protesters, with social distancing protocols not followed.
Talcott tweeted Thursday evening that she had been released, which Ventura said happened at around 5 p.m.
CNN has reached out to the LMPD for comment.
A lawyer representing neighbors of Breonna Taylor said his clients were “extremely happy” with the charges against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison.
Hankison was charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting 10 rounds “wantonly and blindly” into Taylor’s apartment.
Some bullets broke through to an apartment next door, where Chelsey Napper, her young son, and partner Cody Etherton lived, Lawrence said.
Lawrence said that while his clients were “very happy he was indicted for shooting their apartment,” they thought Taylor had not “received the justice that she was due.”
Benjamin Crump, the attorney for Breonna Taylor’s family, says he believes the Kentucky Attorney General’s investigation into her death was a cover-up.
Crump said this after citing what he says were lies from the Louisville Metro Police Department investigation right after Taylor’s death
“They release a three-page police report, Anderson, that was filled with lies saying there were no signs of forced entry, when we know they busted open the door.” Crump added, “Then they had the audacity to say there were no injuries, yet Breonna was executed there in the hallway of her apartment.”
CNN has previously reported that officers used a battering ram to break down Taylor’s door.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a news conference Wednesday that his investigation did not include how the warrant was obtained, although that information could be used in the current FBI investigation into Taylor’s killing.
Although Crump said that the family was told about 10 minutes before the decision was announced publicly, two local attorneys who were with the family – Lonita Baker and Sam Aguiar – say it was even shorter, closer to two minutes, despite their understanding that the AG would inform them of the Grand Jury’s decision well before any public announcement.
Ahead of Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals between the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm on Thursday, Napheesa Collier of the Lynx read a statement on behalf of WNBA players regarding the decision made on Breonna Taylor’s case.
The Storm went on to win the game 89-79 and have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
The Louisville Metro Police Department declared an unlawful assembly downtown Thursday night.
It is the second night of demonstrations following a grand jury’s decision not to charge any officers in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor.
The department tweeted that the declaration was made “due to protesters breaking windows” on Fourth Street.
A citywide curfew is in effect from 9 p.m. ET to 6:30 a.m. ET.
Protesters marched through Louisville for a second night and demanded justice for Breonna Taylor after a grand jury declined to charge three officers with her killing.
At one point, dozens of demonstrators in Louisville veered off the march route and confronted a group of people dressed in military-style outfits and carrying rifles.
The protesters chanted “Black lives matter” and “No justice, no peace” as they ringed the group.
Other members of the march eventually called the demonstrators back to the protest.
What you need to know: More than six months after Taylor was shot to death after Louisville police officers broke down the door to her apartment while executing a warrant, a grand jury decided to indict only one of the three officers involved on first-degree wanton endangerment charges. The charge applies to the risk put on Taylor’s neighbors but does not aim to hold the officer responsible for her death.
Now, Taylor’s family wants Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to release transcripts of the grand jury proceedings, according to family attorney Ben Crump.
Crump told CNN’s Anderson Cooper tonight that they are “demanding that the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings be released so we can see if Breonna’s voice was ever put forth before that grand jury.”
Watch:
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has signed an executive order activating the state’s National Guard “as a precautionary measure in response to recent instances of civil unrest across the country,” the governor’s office said in a news release Thursday.
“The National Guard, as well as the Missouri State Highway Patrol, stands ready to assist local law enforcement if necessary,” the release said.
Several hundred protesters marched through New York City tonight and chanted Breonna Taylor’s name.
Protesters carried banners and other signs with demands to defund police.
Taylor was shot to death after Louisville police officers broke down the door to her apartment while executing a warrant.
A grand jury decided to indict only one of the three officers involved on first-degree wanton endangerment charges. The charge applies to the risk put on Taylor’s neighbors but does not aim to hold the officer responsible for her death.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer extended the citywide curfew through the weekend, his office announced Thursday evening.
The curfew will continue to run from 9 p.m. ET to 6:30 a.m. ET.
“As the city continues its work to balance people’s First Amendment rights to peacefully protest with the duty to protect public safety, Mayor Greg Fischer said today that he is extending the countywide curfew through the weekend,” the statement said.
These government buildings will be closed until Monday:
Massachusetts Gov. Charles Baker signed an order Thursday activating members of his state’s National Guard Thursday ahead of any potential protests in the commonwealth.
He approved up to 1,000 members of the Massachusetts National guard “to provide necessary assistance to State and local civilian authorities and/or special duty and emergency assistance for the preservation of live and property, preservation of order, and to afford protection to persons.”
That number does not necessarily reflect the number of personnel who could be deployed at any given time, according to Jake Wark, the director of communications for the Executive Office of Public Safety & Security.
Baker signed a similar order in late August but no municipal leaders utilized the guard and the order was canceled several days later.
Former Det. Brett Hankison, the officer indicted on first-degree wanton endangerment charges in the Breonna Taylor case, intends to plead not guilty when he is arraigned, his attorney, Stew Matthews, told CNN.
Evidence in the case does not support the charges against his client, he added. The charge applies to the risk put on Taylor’s neighbors but does not aim to hold the officer responsible for her death.
Hankison was booked Wednesday in the Shelby County Jail, posted a $15,000 bond and was released, Matthews said.
The long-anticipated announcement Wednesday was met by outrage and heartbreak from activists and community members, not only in Louisville but nationwide.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse, was described by relatives as a hard-working, goal-oriented young woman who put an emphasis on family. Crump called demonstrations over her death “righteous anger.”
The city of Louisville is working with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office and the FBI to “determine what we can release so it doesn’t interfere with any of the ongoing investigations,” Mayor Greg Fischer said in a news conference Thursday morning.
Fischer was responding to a reporter question about any plans by the mayor’s office to release information related to Breonna Taylor investigation now that the grand jury has reported its findings into the Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Some background: In an interview with CNN this morning, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear reiterated his call for Cameron to publicly release details regarding the grand jury’s examination of the Taylor case.
Watch Gov Beshear with Jim Sciutto:
Officer Robinson Desroches and Major Aubrey Gregory — the two Louisville Metro Police Department officers shot Wednesday evening during protests over the Breonna Taylor case — are expected to recover from their injuries, Mayor Greg Fischer and LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder said in a press conference Thursday morning.
Gregory, who joined the LMPD in 1999, is a commander of the police department’s special operations division and was leading efforts on the ground Wednesday evening, Schroder said. He was treated in hospital and released for a gunshot wound to hip.
He has done a “tremendous job the past several months as one of the leaders of our protest efforts. In fact, some say he may the bedrock of our protest efforts,” the police chief said.
Desroches joined the LMPD in March 2019 and had to undergo surgery after being shot in the abdomen Wednesday.
“We are extremely fortunate that these two officers will recover,” Schroeder said.
The attorney for former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison tells CNN the evidence in the case does not support the charges against his client.
Hankison was indicted by a grand jury on Wednesday on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The counts pertain to Hankison allegedly firing blindly into Breonna Taylor’s apartment through a door and window on March 13, with bullets entering an adjacent apartment and endangering those inside.
Attorney Stew Matthews told CNN his client plans to plead “not guilty” to the charges at his arraignment.
The other two officers who also fired shots during the botched March raid were not indicted, meaning no officer was charged with killing the 26-year-old Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse.
Hankison surrendered on Wednesday afternoon, posted a $15,000 bond and was released, Matthews said.
It is not immediately known when Hankison will make his first court appearance.
Matthews is no stranger to high-profile cases that involve police officers. He defended former University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing, who fatally shot a Black man during a traffic stop in 2015.
After two mistrials in the Tensing case, prosecutors dismissed the murder indictment saying “there is not a likelihood of success at (a third) trial.
26-year-old Larynzo Johnson has been arrested in connection with the shooting of two Louisville Metro Police Department officers, the Louisville Metropolitan Department of Corrections confirmed to CNN.
He has been charged with two counts of first degree assault of an officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer.
Johnson will be arraigned at 10a Friday.
CNN has been unsuccessful in identifying his legal representatives.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and LMPD Chief Robert Schroeder are expected to address the arrest in a press conference Thursday morning.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told CNN he has asked the state’s Attorney General Daniel Cameron to post the details of the investigation and the grand jury proceedings online for the public to “see the facts themselves.”
“The challenge here is that the facts and the evidence have not been shared with the public. I trust the people of Kentucky with the truth. But they need to be able to see the truth, read the evidence, look over what grand jury may have seen or the investigators or the attorney general looked at,” he said.
More than six months after Taylor was shot to death when Louisville police officers broke down the door to her apartment while executing a warrant, a grand jury decided to indict one of the three officers involved on first-degree wanton endangerment charges. The charge applies to the risk put on Taylor’s neighbors but does not aim to hold the officer responsible for her death.
Following the verdict, outrage boiled over into protests in cities across the US. Two officers were shot during the protests in Louisville, Kentucky.
Beshear said he spoke to one of the officers, who he said had a “very good” prognosis and was in good spirits, he told CNN.
Watch more:
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s statement on Breonna Taylor and protests that broke out overnight in Louisville.
McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky, said this:
“Peaceful protests honor the memory of Breonna Taylor. Peaceful protests move us toward justice,” the statement added.
Lonita Baker, the attorney for Breonna Taylor’s mother, said the grand jury’s result “does not make legal sense.”
“I’ve been a prosecutor, I’ve been a criminal defense attorney, and I have to question whether Attorney General Daniel Cameron actually even presented any questions as it relates to the murder of Breonna Taylor to the grand jury for the grand jury to make the determination or if his office unilaterally made that decision,” Baker said.
Baker also noted that officer Brett Hankison’s indictment was related to endangering the three White neighbors, not for endangering the Black neighbors upstairs or for killing Taylor, who is also Black.
Baker also said that it was “truly disheartening to see” that Cameron “did not even have the courage” to tell Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, that the three counts did not relate to her daughter’s death.
