For second night in a row, some Lexington protesters are arrested while calling for police reform
Six people were arrested during a protest calling for more police accountability in Lexington Friday night.
In live video of the protest shared on Facebook by LPD Accountability, a small group of protesters could be seen standing into the intersection at Limestone and Vine streets as vehicles drove around them. Moments later, a group of police officers rode up on bicycles and arrested them.
Those arrested will be charged with disorderly conduct, a police spokeswoman said.
It was the second night in a row in which protesters were arrested in Lexington. Four people were arrested Thursday night near the University of Kentucky campus. Lexington police had cut the group off in the street and told them to get on the sidewalk, but they refused. The protesters said they could be in the street if they were not blocking traffic.
“We are protesting the Attorney General’s decision to not indict LMPD officers for the murder of Breonna Taylor,” LPD Accountability said in a Facebook post before Friday’s protest.
The group also wants reforms to prevent Lexington police officers from resigning rather than facing discipline or being fired.
Brett Hankison, the Louisville police officer who was fired and has been indicted for firing shots that went into a neighboring apartment during the raid that left Breonna Taylor dead, formerly worked for the Lexington Police Department.
When Hankinson resigned from the Lexington police in 2002, his supervisor wrote that he would not recommend rehiring him because he refused to accept supervision, violated standing orders and had a poor attitude toward the police department and his superiors.
“LPD has a history of allowing problematic officers to resign instead of firing them, allowing them to go on to be hired by other departments,” the group said in the Facebook post.
This story was originally published September 25, 2020 at 9:34 PM.
