Social media was flooded with images of Breonna Taylor Saturday as activists strove to memorialize the Louisville, Kentucky, woman on the anniversary of her death in a police raid on her apartment.
The hashtags #BreonnaTaylor and the slogan #SayHerName trended throughout the morning on Twitter.
Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers who were serving a search warrant in a drug investigation related to drug houses 10 miles away. Officers suspected Taylor may have hidden cash or drugs at her home for an ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, but none were recovered.
All three cops were cleared by the grand jury in her death, and just one — former Detective Brett Hankison — was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the apartment building, endangering Taylor’s neighbors. Subsequently, members of the panel criticized the Kentucky attorney general‘s handling of the case.
A picture of Breonna Taylor is seen at a makeshift memorial for victims of racial injustice, following the announcement of a single indictment in Taylor’s case, in Brooklyn on Sept. 24, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidActivists have occupied a city park dubbed “Injustice Square” for months in protest, and were expected to march on Saturday in a continued call for justice.
Taylor’s mother filed six new complaints against Louisville Metro Police officers this week, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. Filed with the department’s Professional Standards Unit, the complaints seek a probe into whether the department’s policies were violated during the investigation that led to the warrant being issued, or during the warrant execution and the police investigation that followed.
Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, also called for Kentucky’s Commonwealth Attorney Tim Wine to arrest the officers.
Protesters gather near the memorial of Breonna Taylor before a march, after a grand jury decided not to bring homicide charges against police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor in her apartment, in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept. 25, 2020. REUTERS/Eduardo MunozAs activists planned to march in Taylor’s memory on Saturday morning, supporters from across the country posted memorials featuring various photos or the slogan “She was sleeping.”
Bernice King, the daughter of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, called for accountability in a Facebook post aimed at Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron. “She should be here. She was not expendable or merely a casualty of poor decision making. Police gunfire should never be frivolous,” the post said.
Breonna Taylor’s sister Ju’Niyah Palmer releases butterflies next to her mother Tamika Palmer as civil rights attorney Ben Crump speaks after a decision in the criminal case against police officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky on Sept. 25, 2020. REUTERS/Lawrence BryantIllinois Sen. Tammy Duckworth tweeted, “Saying her name is about honor. Saying her name is about respect. Saying her name is about accountability. Saying her name is about equal protection. Saying her name is about demanding action. Saying her name is about justice. Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor. Breonna Taylor.”
