Large crowds demonstrated in Louisville
LOUISVILLE (US), Sept 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Two policemen have been shot amid protests in the US over a decision not to charge any officers over the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Taylor, 26, a black hospital worker, was shot six times as three officers raided her home on March 13.
A grand jury in the city of Louisville returned only one minor charge against one of the officers, for shots which hit a neighbouring apartment.
The attorney general said the two other officers’ actions had been justified.
One had been hit by a shot fired by Taylor’s boyfriend, who later told police he thought it was an ex-boyfriend of Taylor who had broken into the apartment.
A judge had granted a warrant to search Taylor’s home because investigators suspected her ex-boyfriend, a convicted drug dealer, was using the address to receive packages. Taylor had no criminal record.
Cases of killings of unarmed black people by police have fuelled anger across the US and beyond, spurred especially by the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
The two police shot on Wednesday are not in life-threatening conditions and a suspect has been arrested.
A state of emergency has been declared and the National Guard has been deployed. A three-day curfew from 21:00 to 06:30 (01:00-10:30 GMT) has been introduced, though crowds were still gathered after it came into effect.
Protests over the grand jury’s decision also took place in New York, Washington, Atlanta, and Chicago. — NNN-AGENCIES
