Louisville Police Announces Restrictions On Protesters Months After Breonna Taylor’s Death

Louisville police department announces new rules concerning protests after months of public outcry against police brutality The Courier-Journal reports. The Louisville’s Metro Police Department will no longer allow protests to be on public streets, must stay on sidewalks and compliant with traffic laws. Violators may face a citation and possible arrest police spokeswoman Jessie Halladay said.  Protesters previously used their bodies or cars to block traffic.

Protesters told the Courier Journal the mandates is an “intimidation tactic” in efforts to minimize their calls for justice. The demonstrators plan to continue their marches with plans to disrupt the city until the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor have been charged.

Taylor, 26, was killed on March 13 after a no-knock warrant was served at her home where police opened fire and hit her eight times.

“The objective and the goal is to disrupt just as much as (police) disrupt people’s lives,” activist Chanelle Helm told Courier Journal. “I don’t think anybody is really bothered by them. They decided they want to spend all type of money to keep coming out and interrupting and just assaulting people.”

Halladay said events over the weekend sparked the decision. “An increase in aggressive behavior over the past week, including several incidents Saturday night,” she said according to the Courier Journal. The LMPD explained the regulations on an Instagram post.

“For nearly 75 days, Louisville residents have taken to the streets to express their desire for accountability and change. One of the primary ways of doing that has been to hold nightly caravans – both cars and foot marches – throughout the city. We have seen increasingly unsafe behavior, including an escalation in aggressive behavior over the past week or so,” the police wrote in the caption.