Kentucky state Representative Attica Scott was arrested Thursday during protests in Louisville after the grand jury declined to charge three officers for Breonna Taylor’s death.
Scott was arrested at First Unitarian Church in downtown Louisville. Although the city had been placed under a curfew which began at 9:00 p.m. EDT, churches were exempt from the deadline. Some protesters, including Scott, were arrested while trying to enter the church.
In a tweet, State Representative Josie Raymond called for the release of Scott and community organizer Shameka Parrish Wright.
“If you arrest the loudest voices fighting racial injustice in Louisville,” Raymond wrote, “we have to believe you want to silence the fight against racial injustice. Let @atticascott4ky and @Seasoned4u out and get out of their way.”
If you arrest the loudest voices fighting racial injustice in Louisville, we have to believe you want to silence the fight against racial injustice. Let @atticascott4ky and @Seasoned4u out and get out of their way.
— State Representative Josie Raymond (@RepJosieRaymond) September 25, 2020
Newsweek reached out to the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department for comment.
Scott is the author of Breonna’s Law, a piece of legislation that called for a ban of no-knock warrants in Louisville. Breonna’s Law was approved by the Louisville City Council in June. Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher signed the ordinance soon afterward. Scott pre-filed a version of Breonna’s Law in August with the state in an effort to ban no-knock warrants across Kentucky.
Members of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department were allegedly serving a no-knock warrant at Taylor’s apartment in March. Under a no-knock warrant, police do not have to identify themselves before entering a residence. Believing the officers to burglars, Taylor’s partner Kenneth Walker opened fire. During the ensuing gunfight, Taylor was hit at least five times while asleep in her bed.
No body camera footage of Taylor’s shooting exists. According to remarks from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron during a Wednesday press conference, the officers were “advised by superiors” to knock and identify themselves while serving the warrant. “In other words,” Cameron said, “the warrant was not served as a no-knock warrant.”
Ballistics test results between two separate laboratories were inconclusive as to which officer fired the shot that killed Taylor. Former officer Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for firing his weapon into surrounding apartments. Louisville police officers Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Miles Cosgrove, who also discharged their firearms during the incident, were not charged.
The findings of the grand jury caused protests to break out in Louisville. On Wednesday, Scott tweeted that Attorney General Cameron “did not deliver justice today and neither did the grand jury. You deserve better. We will pass Breonna’s Law for Kentucky. You will never be forgotten.”
