Protests continue for 7th night in Lexington. Police take new approach: No riot gear.
For the seventh straight night, people gathered in downtown Lexington Thursday to protest against police violence and call for police accountability.
On Thursday, protest leaders said Lexington police would be taking a different approach, with officers not wearing riot gear. Instead, a temporary barrier was set up outside police headquarters, and officers in their normal uniforms listened to protesters and spoke to them over it. Protest organizers said police told them that they didn’t want protesters to be silent, but to “let them have it” and talk, so long as they didn’t push the barriers.
On other recent nights, protesters have often lined up opposite of officers clad in riot gear outside police headquarters on Main Street.
On Thursday, protest organizers said police told them it’s good for officers to hear what protesters are saying, and that it’s making a difference.
Outside police headquarters, protesters and police had some conversations. Protesters asked what the department is doing to learn about people and experiences different than theirs to be more fair. There were multiple conversations with officers going on at once, and protesters gave their concerns, asked questions and asked police what they were doing to help make the department more fair for everyone.
One organizer noted that it took a barrier for police to take off their riot gear, adding that although police have changed their approach some to meet what protesters have asked, protesters weren’t appeased: “We’re still here.”
Lexington Police Department Resource Officer Kelven Eden was one of the officers who spoke with protesters and heard their concerns.
“For me, it’s nice to sit and kind of talk to everybody and not be in the full riot gear. It’s not needed,” Eden said. “Everybody here is peaceful. We just want to learn, we want to take what they say to heart and we want to take it back to our chief and see what’s going on, what can we do to improve our agency? We love this community.”
Eden said he had great conversations with protesters about the changes they want to see.
“I come to work every day and I try to be fair, I try to be impartial and take care of everybody the best I can,” Eden said. “I’m not a perfect man, but I care about this city and I’ll do everything I can.”
Protest leader Sarah Williams told the group that what they’ve been doing since last Friday is working — people are listening, and organizers have had meetings with officials and are seeing more dialogue on the issues than before.
On Thursday, protesters walked in the rain, chanting “No Justice, No Peace!” as the protest got underway.
People have been gathering downtown since last week to show solidarity with cities who have had recent police killings of unarmed black people. The local protesters have also called for changes to be made in the Lexington Police Department to provided more accountability.
Protesters have been chanting the names of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old unarmed black woman from Louisville who was killed in her apartment by Louisville Metro Police. They have also chanted about George Floyd, an unarmed black man whose killing by Minneapolis police has sparked protests across the country.
A memorial service for Floyd was also held Thursday.
On Thursday, Lexington protesters paused and were silent in front of portraits of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd that had been put up on the downtown transit center. One protester said Taylor and Floyd have to be the focus of these protests — that they just wanted to live, and that it could happen to anyone who looks like them.
The officers who were present for Floyd’s death have all been charged, but protesters continue to call for charges to be filed against the officers who killed Taylor.
The protests in Lexington have been mostly peaceful, and police have sometimes participated by kneeling, praying or talking with protesters. But organizers of the protests have said they will continue their protests until there is change and an increase in police accountability. Additional protests were planned for Friday evening, including a car caravan through downtown.
Williams, who’s led many of these protests, said organizing is continual. She said the group’s demands about the police collective bargaining agreement are built on work and research that began years ago. Once demands with police are met, there are other issues to address, like education, she said.
The Lexington Police Department’s collective bargaining agreement is set to be renegotiated this year, and the protesters are calling for changes that would provide more oversight to disciplinary actions against officers.
This story was originally published June 4, 2020 at 9:13 PM.
