Update:
Police in Louisville, Kentucky, police were restricting access to downtown in preparation for the state attorney general’s announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death.
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“While we do not know when the Attorney General will make his announcement, LMPD is taking the following actions now to ensure the area is as safe as possible for those coming downtown to express their First Amendment Rights, as well as those who live and work in the area,” the Louisville Metro Police Department said Tuesday in a statement.
Police said they would place barricades around Jefferson Square Park, where many protests have been held, and the perimeter of the downtown area, allow only pedestrians in the blocks immediately surrounding Jefferson Square Park, restrict vehicle traffic in other areas of downtown and limit access to parking garages.
Original:
The Louisville police department will hold a news conference on Tuesday morning ahead of the state attorney general’s announcement about whether he will charge officers in Breonna Taylor’s shooting death.
Robert Schroeder, the city’s chief of police, is slated to hold the news conference at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday. The event will be livestreamed in this article; if there is not a livestream available, check back at a later time.
On Monday, the police force said officers were setting up barricades and restricting access to downtown in preparation for the announcement.
A statement from the department said all requests for vacation and days off were being canceled “until further notice” as the city awaits Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement. “It is important to note that (Cameron) has said there is no timetable for the announcement,” the statement added.
Cameron said earlier this month that “an investigation, if done properly, cannot follow a certain timeline.”
“When the investigation concludes and a decision is made, we will provide an update about an announcement,” he said.
Taylor, an emergency medical worker, was shot eight times on March 13 by officers who entered her home using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant used was connected to a suspect who did not live there, and no drugs were found inside. The use of no-knock warrants has since been banned by Louisville’s Metro Council.
Large protests over Taylor’s death that at times became violent erupted in late May in the city but most demonstrations since then have been peaceful, including a massive march outside the Kentucky Derby earlier this month. Celebrities, athletes, activists and Taylor’s family have for months pushed Cameron to criminally charge the officers involved in the raid.
Last week, the city of Louisville settled a lawsuit from Taylor’s family for $12 million and pledged several police reforms as part of the agreement.