Today would have been Breonna Taylor’s 27th birthday. She’s dead. On March 13, LMPD officers shot her in her apartment after activating a no-knock warrant in search of someone who was not there.
Breonna’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker awoke from the police invasion and shot at what he thought were burglars. Police returned fire, wounding Walker and killing Taylor.
Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to honor Breonna in a movement launched following the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Four police officers have been arrested over Floyd’s death but none of the Louisville officers have been charged in the killing of Breonna Taylor.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer appeared on the radio with me tonight to answer questions about the protests, Breonna’s family pain, his broken relationship with police, unstoppable vandalism and looting, and the fading appeal of housing a downtown business in a city that has lost control.
📻 I spoke with @louisvillemayor on balancing emotion and logic during a citizen uprising, discord with @LMPD, whether to fire the cops who shot #BreonnaTaylor, and how to convince business owners to keep investing in downtown. 📲 @840WHAS 🎙 https://t.co/zv8YIq7r9N #community pic.twitter.com/cvfvgMnem5
— Terry Meiners (@terrymeiners) June 4, 2020
@terrymeiners: “How are you going to convince a business owner to stay in downtown #Louisville?”@louisvillemayor Greg Fischer: “… I mean, let’s be clear this is criminal behavior. These are folks that are just taking advantage of peace protesting to get out there and loot.” https://t.co/DEdlyaLY6T
— Philmonger (@phillipmbailey) June 5, 2020
A modern rush to judgment…
-Twitter mob, enabled by click-thirsty media, instantly declares guilt
-Officials, terrified of mob/media, immediately punish perpetrators
-All who dissent are intimidated into silence
-Once full story is known it is way too late to reverse narrative— John Ziegler (@Zigmanfreud) June 6, 2020