LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright, D-District 3, was joined by nearly 20 speakers at City Hall on the morning of March 13 to honor the life of Breonna Taylor who was killed by Louisville police four years ago.
“This is an emotional day for me for so many reasons,” Wright said. “We are here because it’s four years later. Four years later after civil unrest. Four years later we’re still seeking accountability through our Louisville Metro Police Department. Four years later no one has been held responsible for the killing of Breonna Taylor,” Wright continued.
Wright says they are still fighting for justice as no officer was charged in Taylor’s death. Last year, a U.S. Department of Justice Investigation into the practices of LMPD reported evidence of multiple civil rights violations of over years, including examples of using excessive force, searches based on invalid warrants, unlawful stops, arrests and violations against free speech.
On Wednesday, the speakers included Amber Duke of the American Civil Liberties Union, who said, “Our organization filed a lawsuit in the fall of 2020, which is still going on. We have still not gone to trial. We are still working through pretrial motions demanding that police stop using gas on peaceful protesters, stop using weapons of war against people who are exercising their First Amendment rights.” The ACLU is working with the Legal Defense Fund as co-council in the particular lawsuit.
“As we continue to move forward that you all keep the fire of accountability lit and every option that you have. I’m not asking you to give up your jobs, but I’m asking you to use your role to be a resource to an ongoing movement to correct ad right the many wrongs,” Wright implored.
Breonna Taylor’s aunt, Bianca Austin, spoke on the family’s behalf. “Who the hell do you call when the police kill your baby?” Austin asked. “She was blossoming. She was thriving. Breonna worked two jobs. She had her own, everything and it was snatched away by just people who tried to take the law into their own hands,” Austin continued.
Nearly 20 people spoke during the more than two-hour event. Many recounted their personal struggles with injustice and called upon city and state leaders and police to hear them on this somber anniversary. “I want to give you an opportunity to change,” Shreeta Waldon, executive director of the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition, said of police. “And the way that works is that when you see something, you do something. OK? What that looks like is that you might get into a little good trouble in your gang.”