KC marchers join in protest after officers not charged for killing Breonna Taylor
More than 80 people protested Wednesday outside the Kansas City Police Department after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for the killing of Breonna Taylor.
The group not only called for justice for Taylor, who was killed during a drug raid gone wrong, but also for men fatally shot by Kansas City police officers.
“Say his name,” someone with a megaphone shouted.
The crowd replied with the names of Cameron Lamb, Ryan Stokes and Donnie Sanders, among others. Sanders, they noted, was killed by an officer who thought he was armed, though he was not, March 12 — the day before Taylor.
The protesters marched from the police department to the Jackson County Detention Center, where they chanted “abolish jails” and “we hear you,” as detainees banged on windows. Then they walked back to the police station.
The speakers of the group called for the firing of Police Chief Rick Smith.
“Who ain’t afraid of cops?” attorney Stacy Shaw asked.
“We ain’t afraid of cops,” the group responded.
Police on Thursday said five people were arrested for trespassing at the police headquarters, and all have been released.
Before the protest, several Kansas City groups expressed frustration over the grand jury decision.
In Facebook post, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, for example, said the decision proved “yet again that Black Lives DO NOT MATTER in America.”
Protests in cities across the U.S. came after prosecutors said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were justified in using force to protect themselves after they faced gunfire from her boyfriend.
The only charges brought by the grand jury were three counts of wanton endangerment against fired Officer Brett Hankison for shooting into Taylor’s neighbors’ homes during the raid.
The FBI is still investigating potential violations of federal law in the case.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 8:15 PM.
