In a few hours it will be March 13th here, which will make one year since LMPD killed Breonna Taylor.
On June 5th of last year she would have turned 27, to mark the occasion a celebration/memorial and balloon release was held for Breonna at Jefferson Square Park.
I have no clue how many thousands were in attendance that day but it was one of (if not the) largest turnouts I witnessed at the square all year.
Everyone from Louisville's Mayor Fischer (above) to Jesse Jackson (below) were there.
It was hotter than hell, as Kentucky in early June is wont to be, but that didn't deter the crowd. Medics did have to attend to a few people who didn't drink enough water though.
Breonna's family and other speakers gathered on the steps of Louisville Metro Hall and addressed the crowd for some time and then more balloons than I think I've seen in the rest of my life combined were released.
The night before we'd went on a 15+ mile march to pay the mayor a visit at home and it had made for a late night (we got to his house a little before midnight), so after the balloon release I was about done for the day.
This last photo is from the night before but I have to include it, this was the first cop to arrive and block what I believe is the mayor's driveway. He didn't seem very pleased, although I'm unsure if this was due to being half surrounded or because I kept hitting him with the flash from my camera. He got an earful from us for a few minutes until the SWAT team showed up and made things more interesting, but that's another story for another post.
I can't stand the apologists for this kind of police brutality. The war on drugs and SWAT/militaristic mentality combine to guarantee abuse and murder even without racism and sociopathic murderers on the force.
Yeah, that is one toxic brew for sure. LMPD seems determined to do nothing about it and to resent anyone who tries to do anything about it.
They are literally the enforcers of the biggest gang on the block, so of course they resent criticism.
Keep up the good fight, PoPo man looks pretty damn grumpy as you say, but has probably a dick anyway to land that job.
Thanks. Yeah, I'm almost certain that is a job requirement for LMPD...
'Not too welcoming' is a good way to put it, both in regards to him and LMPD in general.
Thanks!