‘It ... touches my heart.’ Lexington caravan marks anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death
One year to the day after Breonna Taylor died when she was shot by Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant at her home, demonstrators gathered in Lexington and Louisville Saturday to remember her life and to call for justice.
In Lexington, protesters participated in a car caravan that made six laps through downtown. Some honked and chanted via a bullhorn, calling out “Say her name” and “Breonna Taylor means we have to fight back.” A handful of protesters also stood on the sidewalk downtown with signs.
“Last year, I protested a lot,” said Jasmine White as she decorated her car before the caravan began. “It just really touches my heart. ...She was one year older than me. I could’ve been in the same situation.”
The car caravan made six laps because LPD Accountability has made six demands for change in Lexington, including revisions to the city’s collective bargaining agreement with police and a ban on no-knock warrants.
Community organizer April Taylor said Saturday that the group wants to increase awareness of the need for changes in the police department.
The Louisville officer fired after Breonna Taylor was shot worked for Lexington police, Taylor said. “He should’ve been fired. Had he been fired, he may not have gone on to work for the Louisville Metro Police Department.”
Hankinson is the only officer involved in the raid at Taylor’s apartment who was indicted by a grand jury in September. He was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment because of three bullets that went into a neighboring apartment.
Hankinson worked as an officer in Lexington for about three years before he resigned in 2002. At the time, his supervisor wrote a memorandum recommending against rehiring him “due to his actions in violation of standing orders, refusal to accept supervision, and general poor attitude toward the Division of Police and its commanding staff.”
Accountability for Lexington police can be addressed in part by the collective bargaining agreement, Taylor said.
“Our collective bargaining agreement is currently being negotiated in secret, and we feel like that’s an issue,” Taylor said. “Our local city council has the ability to reject the collective bargaining agreement, and we want constituents to know that they have the ability to put pressure on city council about whether or not they accept this collective bargaining agreement, whether or not we have a police civilian review board, whether or not our police disciplinary process continues to be what it is and whether or not local people have a say in what happens with police accountability.”
In Louisville, protesters gathered downtown with Taylor’s family to remember her and to continue to call for charges against officers in the case.
According to a news release, a mobile billboard was to circle the downtown area throughout the day bearing the messages “Her Life Still Matters. #BreonnaTaylor” and “Chief Erika Shields is unaccountable to Breonna’s Louisville. She must resign! #WeKeepUsSafe.”
Taylor was 26 when she was shot in her apartment the night of March 13, 2020.
Taylor’s death helped spark a series of protests and a broad-ranging discussion about the treatment of Black Americans by law enforcement.
The FBI in Louisville is continuing to investigate the case, and the agency said in a statement Saturday that it has made “significant progress” since it opened its investigation last May.
“On this one-year anniversary of the death of Breonna Taylor, FBI Louisville remains steadfast in its commitment to bringing this investigation to its appropriate conclusion,” the agency said in a tweet.
The city of Louisville agreed in September to pay Taylor’s family $12 million in a civil settlement and promised to make reforms.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 6:55 PM.
CORRECTION: In earlier versions of this article, Hankinson’s departure from the Lexington Police Department was incorrectly described by a protest organizer. He left Lexington and went to work for Louisville’s department.
