On March 13, 2020, Louisville Metro Police Department executed a no-knock warrant at the apartment of Breonna Taylor where she lived with her younger sister, Junaya. The warrant was in connection to Breonna’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover and his friend, Adrian Walker (no relation to Kenneth) who were under investigation on charges of drug trafficking. The warrant claimed that the USPS gave LMPD information that Taylor was receiving packages for Glover with drug related contents. While the raid led by officers Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison began, Breonna was in her bed watching a movie with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker and both were dozing off when they heard a loud bang at their door. Terrified, they got out of bed to see what the noise was and Walker grabbed his Glock handgun. As they neared the front door, a battering ram knocked it in and off its hinges and Kenneth fired a single shot in that direction. He claims that he didn't hear the officers identify themselves before or upon entry and fired the gun to protect Breonna and himself against who he deemed to be intruders. This story is corroborated by 11 witnesses that night and conflicted by one, who said he heard officers announce themselves once. Walker had a license to carry his gun and resides in Kentucky, an open carry state. The shot he fired, prompted officers to return fire directly into the apartment from multiple angles, resulting in Breonna being hit by at least 6 of the 32 rounds shot. LMPD claimed that the bullet Walker shot hit officer Mattingly in the leg, yet this is still unconfirmed upon investigation. According to Walker, Breonna suffered and bled out in the hallway as she was not administered any medical treatment for multiple minutes. Kenneth Walker was arrested on site and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, with those charges later being dropped. LMPD already had Glover in custody after a raid at house on Elliot Avenue, 30 minutes earlier, yet they still went ahead with the no-knock on Breonna’s apartment.
Although Breonna was killed in March, the bulk of the protests in Louisville and around the country didn’t take place until the murder of George Floyd rekindled the movement for police accountability. The worldwide outrage over Floyd’s death strengthened efforts, mobilizing protestors and Breonna Taylor eventually became a household name and prominent face behind the Black Lives Matter Movement. Protests were met with frequent tear gas and rubber bullets from LMPD as curfews were enforced during large unrest. The daily meeting place and the Louisville protest hub was Jefferson Square Park, which they renamed “Injustice Square,” a central location in the city. A large painted portrait of Breonna was installed in the center of the square and people made signs and art to display around the portrait in her memory. The large group of activists tirelessly protesting for justice for Breonna was coined with the name BREEWAY. On June 11, 2020, Louisville passed “Breonna’s Law,” which directly limits the type of warrants that can be executed and requires the use of body cameras on all officers before and after a search.
Many direct-action protests took place over the summer, including a large demonstration on the lawn of Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s house, where protestors demanded that he charge the officers who killed Breonna Taylor. Eighty-seven protestors were arrested and charged with a felony for “intimidating a participant in a legal process,” disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing. During the conclusion of a weekend entitled “BreonnaCon,” led by the social justice organization, “Until Freedom,” a large group of protestors on a march stopped in the middle of the road in front of a police line and refused to move. They were all warned that they would be arrested if they didn’t disburse. Most didn’t listen, leading to the arrest of 71 protestors, many who screamed Breonna Taylor’s name as they were put in handcuffs and twist ties. All of this wasn’t working as no charges had been filed and they set their sites on the Kentucky Derby. Their plan was to disrupt the massive event that brings worldwide attention to the city. On that afternoon, multiple militia groups converged at Injustice Square in conflict, but no shots were fired and all parties separated peacefully. That weekend, the NFAC, the all black militia which was known for their march on Stone Mountain, assembled in large numbers outside Churchill Downs, as the Derby was about to start. The large march of Louisville activists arrived shortly after. A plane was flown over the venue with a sign that read “Arrest the Cops that Killed Breonna Taylor.” The march continued around the perimeter of the fencing and people made as much noise as possible, hoping to disrupt the event by spooking the horses but to no avail. The event went on without a hitch but the protest made national headlines.
On September 23, Daniel Cameron announced that former Officer Brett Hankison would be would be the only officer charged in the death of Breonna, on three counts of felony wanton endangerment for his role in the shooting. These charges were not for bullets that hit Breonna but the bullets that missed, flying through the walls into neighboring apartments, nearly hitting multiple residents including a pregnant woman and her 5 year-old son. Hankison was fired earlier in year in mid-June, after the department determined that he created "substantial danger of death and serious injury," when he blindly opened fire into Taylor's apartment. He was found not guilty on all charges on March 3, 2022. Myles Cosgrove, who shot the two bullets that caused her death, according to an FBI ballistics report, was also fired. Joshua Jaynes was fired for lying about information in order to get the no-knock warrant that resulted in the death of Taylor. His claim was that he had postal service information that Breonna was receiving packages at her apartment containing illegal substances for Jamarcus Glover, a claim that was not supported by USPS employees after a thorough internal investigation review. After the shooting, no drugs or cash were found inside Breonna’s apartment. In November of 2021, after pleading guilty, Glover was sentenced to 5 years probation for the charges and is being allowed to serve his sentence in Mississippi where he may be able to find a more easily.
Louisville is no stranger to gun violence and trauma caused by the loss of prominent community members. On June 1, 2020 David McAtee, the owner of YaYa’s Barbecue, was shot and killed while members of the National Guard and LMPD were enforcing a 9 pm curfew ordered by the mayor. Around midnight, many people were still gathered outside Dino’s Food Mart and YaYa’s, which was also his home. As officers began to rush in, people started to run with many seeking cover inside YaYa’s. Machelle McAtee, David’s niece, refused to return inside and LMPD Officer, Katie Crews began pelting her with pepper balls with some missing and shattering things inside of his restaurant. David watched this unfold from his doorstep, grabbed his gun and fired two shots in the direction of Crews and the National Guard Officers, prompting them to return fire. A single shot which was fired by the NGO, struck him in the chest which caused him to fall back into his restaurant where he passed away. On March 16, 2022 it was announced that federal charges had been filed against Crews for the shots she fired at Machelle on grounds that she violated her Civil Rights. This marks the first and only charges related to McAtee’s death. Just a few weeks later on June 28, Tyler Gerth, a local photographer and activist was killed during a protest. He was shot at Injustice Square when Steven Lopez, a man who been at the onsite earlier, returned with a handgun and allegedly opened fire following a dispute. Beloved BREEWAY protester Travis Nagde, nicknamed “Chants the Rapper,” was shot and killed on November 23 when he was held up by a carjacker at gunpoint. Ashton Nally was later arrested and charged for his murder. Travis always had the megaphone in his hand and was known for his powerful voice that carried so much spirit. Kris Smith, a protest leader in BREEWAY who made national news when he live-streamed the killing of David McAtee, was shot and killed less than a month later on December 11 while in his car in the Portland Neighborhood. Memorials for all of these people were crafted and put up around Injustice Square during gatherings and protests in their memory.
