UltraViolet, BLM Louisville Respond to Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Decision
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday, 23 September 2020
CONTACT: Anna Zuccaro | anna@unbendablemedia.com
UltraViolet, BLM Louisville Respond to Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Decision
LOUISVILLE, KY — Moments ago, a grand jury decided to charge officer Brett Hankison for the “reckelss endangerment” in the murder of 26 year old Breonna Taylor. Taylor, who worked as an emergency room technician, was shot to death in her own home on a no-knock warrant by the plain-clothed police officers.
The grand jury declined to file charges against the other two officers – Jonathan Mattingly, and Myles Cosgrove – who killed Taylor and who remain active, paid members of their Louisville Metropolitan Police Department.
Chanelle Helm, lead organizer of BLM Louisville, reacted:
At this moment, since the beginning of the pandemic, but also since the beginning of global uprisings in the movement for Black lives, we shouldn’t be too surprised at what’s happening.
What is frustrating is that white supremacy, this government and its elected officials continue to deny us healing and any taste of what real justice looks like. Justice in this country is nonexistent. To those in power, “justice” is hungry kids, it’s police terror in our neighborhoods over our lives. It’s allowing Mitch McConnell to stay in office by buying votes. It’s Trump stealing elections and blaming the media for it. It’s other pussy grabbers and white Karens calling the police on Black boys and girls.
This country hasn’t changed. This country hasn’t come to the realization that fascism was its only goal. We move every day for capitalism and not for humanity. Instead of bringing in paths for healing, we keep bringing in more law enforcement, more military and more representations of the systems we desperately need to dismantle.
Shaunna Thomas, Executive Director at UltraViolet, added:
Today, after six months of fierce outrage, peaceful protests, and more killings by the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department – a grand jury in Kentucky has shown us the pervasiveness of white supremacy and the need to continue to demand justice for Breonna Taylor.
The indictment of Brett Hankison on charges of reckless endangerment is an insult to the idea of justice. Hankison, along with his colleagues Mattingly and Cosgrove are murderers, who killed Breonna Taylor in her own home. There will be no justice until all of the officers who killed Breonna are held accountable for her murder.
“For the past six months, we have stood behind Black Lives Matter Louisville and the Louisville community in demanding that Mayor Greg Fischer and AG Daniel Cameron fire, arrest, charge and revoke the pensions of the three police officers responsible for Breonna Taylor’s death. In the face of Taylor’s murder – they have done nothing but perpetuate police violence and white supremacy.
UltraViolet and our members will continue to support BLM Louisville activists, and demand that all three police officers responsible for Taylor’s death be fired, arrested and charged; that the Louisville police department be defunded; and that Mayor Fischer resign immediately.
This fight is far from over.
Since Breonna Taylor’s death on March 13th, UltraViolet has collaborated with Black Lives Matter activists in Louisville, Kentucky to:
Take out a full page ad in the Louisville Courier Journal for what would have been her 27th birthday on Friday, June 5th.
Fly a plane over downtown Louisville with a banner reading “BREONNA WAS ESSENTIAL. DEFUND LMPD.”
Air a TV ad in late July on CBS, NBC, FOX and ABS affiliates in Louisville urging the Attorney General and Mayor Fischer to fire, arrest and charge the officers responsible for Breonna’s death.
Ask major employers in Louisville, including Humana, Ford and UPS to take a stand to demand justice for Breonna in a joint letter.
Air the TV ad again during local media coverage of the Kentucky Derby.
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