On third night, protesters march, chant, kneel and pray with Lexington police
For the third night in a row, protesters gathered Sunday in downtown Lexington to call for an end to police violence.
The crowd that gathered Sunday at the courthouse lawn was the biggest yet. Protesters marched through several downtown streets, stopping in front of police headquarters on Main Street, where they stood face-to-face with a line of Lexington police officers.
Many of the protesters kneeled and shouted ‘Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!”
One protester walked down the line of police officers, shaking their hands one by one.
Later in the evening, protesters again faced Lexington officers in front of the headquarters building. The protesters chanted for police to kneel with them. After a number of officers kneeled, protesters moved forward to embrace them. Several protesters thanked the officers or fist bumped them. Another told police he shouldn’t have to live in fear of what police might do to him.
Organizers of the protest repeatedly appealed to the large crowd to keep the protest peaceful, noting that many children were in attendance. The protesters marched along Main Street past Triangle Park, then down Vine, locking arms and chanting “No Justice, No Peace!” along the way.
Around 10:45 p.m., the official protest ended with a speech in front of the courthouse, and organizers asked the crowd to disperse. Some in the crowd stayed, holding signs and chanting at police near the courthouse well past midnight.
But a group of protesters also prayed with Lexington officers.
As of 1 a.m., Lexington police said they had made no arrests in relation to the protest.
Earlier in the evening, John Wesley Williams Jr. stood with a sign at Main & Limestone that said: “Legalize being black.” Williams said he was there for his four great grandsons. “I’m here so one day they won’t have to protest.”
Williams said he has had to teach every black male in his family how to react if they are pulled over or if a police officer enters their home.
Alex Schwab, a 5th grade teacher from Winchester said she came for her students. “Kids are worried about school shooters. They shouldn’t have to fear the police to.”
Zania Tutwilee came with friends from Frankfort. “It’s really about equality. We want to hold people accountable.”
Protests have been happening for days in cities across the country in response to violence by police, specifically the recent deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. Taylor was shot and killed by police inside her Louisville apartment. Floyd died when a police officer in Minneapolis pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for several minutes. Both Floyd and Taylor were black and unarmed.
In Lexington on Friday and Saturday nights, protests remained peaceful and Lexington Police officers did not react when confronted by protesters. Earlier on Sunday, protesters had already returned to the downtown courthouse lawn, where they chanted the names of people affected by police brutality.
Below are real-time social media posts and information from Herald-Leader journalists as they covered the third night of protests in Lexington:
This story was originally published May 31, 2020 at 7:47 PM.