This 28 September 2020 video says about itself:
A Police Cover-Up? New Bodycam Video from Night of Breonna Taylor’s Killing Undermines State Account
We speak with Vice News correspondent Roberto Ferdman about new body camera footage he obtained from the police raid that killed Breonna Taylor in Louisville in March, which has raised troubling questions about the integrity of the crime scene, and the investigation that followed. “The public deserves more information to understand what we know for sure and what we don’t and why things have been presented the way they have been,” Ferdman tells Democracy Now!
A 28 June 2020 video from Kentucky in the USA used to say about itself:
Kentucky Shooting! Armed Man Showers Protesters With Bullets!
Warning: this is graphic. A white man opened fire on a group of peaceful protestors in Louisville, Kentucky, today. Local reports claim there are multiple victims.
The people attacked by that gunman are protesting against police murdering local healthcare worker Breonna Taylor, shot eight times for sleeping while black.
This 27 June 2020 video from the USA says about itself:
[White supremacist] ‘Armed militia’ group rumored to counter-protest in Louisville
As rumors about an armed militia group coming to downtown Louisville continue to circulate, LMPD has made plans to close some streets.
Translated from Dutch NOS radio today:
Man shot dead in Kentucky anti-racism protest
In Louisville, Kentucky, a man opened fire on protesters last night. A man was hit and died of his injuries, a second victim was taken to hospital injured.
In the park where the attack took place, a protest was in progress following the death of Breonna Taylor in March this year. The 26-year-old black woman was killed in her home by police bullets. …
The police have not yet revealed anything about the circumstances of the shooting incident last night. It is also not clear whether the gunman was arrested or identified. …
George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis in late May has also sparked protests against racism and police brutality in Louisville. The case of Breonna Taylor was also put into the spotlight again.
The agents who were involved in the raid on her house in March had a so-called ‘no-knock warrant’, which allowed them to invade without notice. …
After Taylor’s death, the city council put an end to the no-knock warrants.
PROBE CASTS DOUBT ON POLICE CLAIMS OF SUSPICIOUS MAIL AT BREONNA TAYLOR’S HOME When a police officer in Louisville, Kentucky, requested a search warrant for Breonna Taylor’s apartment, he told a judge that a drug suspect had been receiving potentially suspicious packages at the woman’s home. It was a key reason provided by the Louisville Metro Police Department to convince the judge that a warrant was necessary. But, according to an internal police investigation, officers were told “repeatedly” that no packages ― “suspicious or otherwise” ― had been delivered to Taylor’s home in connection with the drug probe. [HuffPost]
Dear Kitty. Some blog 
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This is disgusting! I hope that gunman gets arrested.
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Yes, so do I!
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“Tyler Gerth (27), was a beloved son, cherished little brother, adored uncle to seven nieces and nephews and a trusted friend. We are devastated that his life was taken was from us far too soon,” the family said, according to Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS. “Tyler was incredibly kind, tender hearted and generous, holding deep convictions and faith. It was this sense of justice that drove Tyler to be part of the peaceful demonstrations advocating for the destruction of the systemic racism within our society’s systems.”
https://abcnews.go.com/US/louisville-shooting-suspect-arrested-family-victim-speaks/story?id=71503454
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Yesterday, a grand jury decided to indict only one of three police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor. The indicted officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with “endangering” Breonna’s neighbors but not for murdering Breonna.1
Linda, we are angry. There is no justice until officers Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and Jonathan Mattingly are held accountable for Breonna’s death – and the police department that killed her is defunded.
Louisville residents are rightfully outraged and won’t let this stop their push for justice, because regardless of this decision, funding must be diverted away from the police department that killed Breonna and other Louisville citizens.
Will you sign the petition demanding that Louisville’s biggest employers completely divest from the Louisville Metro Police Department and all organizations that support it?
In fact, on top of the Louisville Metro Police Department and the city’s jails eating up 49 percent of the city’s budget, Louisville’s biggest employers–UPS, Humana, Ford, and Kroger–support the arming of LMPD in some way.2 UPS, Humana, and Kroger have employees on the board of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation, which funnels dark money to the LMPD.3 Ford faced protest from its own employees for providing police cars to the Louisville police since Breonna’s death.4
After 40,000 people signed our petition demanding that UPS, Humana, and Ford join the call for justice for Breonna, all three companies responded claiming to be “champions of justice and equality” while refusing to do anything for Breonna’s case.5
Right now, the public’s attention is on Louisville. If thousands of people call them out, these multi-billion dollar companies might just stop supporting the police department responsible for Breonna’s death.
Will you sign the petition demanding that UPS, Humana, Ford, and Kroger completely divest from the Louisville Metro Police Department and all organizations that support it?
Tell UPS, Humana, Ford, and Kroger: “Stop supporting the police who murdered Breonna Taylor. Divest entirely from the Louisville Metro Police Department, Louisville Metro Police Foundation, and the Fraternal Order of Police.”
Sign the petition
These four companies are some of the biggest employers in Breonna’s hometown of Louisville, Ky., employing more than 50,000 people.6 Since Breonna’s murder by the Louisville police, these companies’ executives have been eager to show they’re anti-racist: They’ve pledged money to racial justice organizations and the Louisville community–an easy thing to do for multi-billion dollar companies.7
UPS, Humana, Ford, and Kroger support organizations that make them complicit in denying justice to Breonna Taylor. Police foundations, like the Louisville Metro Police Foundation, are dark money organizations that provide police with the weapons, equipment, and technology to surveil, harass, and kill.8 The Fraternal Order of Police is the leading organization that blocks policy reforms intended to prevent violence by police.9
If we bring attention to this, we can force these companies to live up to their claim of being “champions for justice and equality” by divesting entirely from the Louisville Metro Police Department and its supporters.
Will you sign the petition?
Thanks for speaking out!
–Black Lives Matter Louisville and the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. Tweet, Robert Ferdman, September 23, 2020
Tweet, Jamiles Lartey, September 23, 2020
2. Louisville budget won’t defund police. It will send millions to disadvantaged communities, Louisville Courier Journal, June 25, 2020
3. The Louisville Metro Police Foundation, LittleSis, accessed September 10, 2020
4. Ford pressured to stop selling police cars, but it won’t get out of the business, CNN, July 10, 2020
5. Louisville’s largest employers target of national petition related to Breonna Taylor’s death, Louisville Business First, August 18, 2020
6. Top companies, Greater Louisville, Inc., accessed September 10, 2020
7. UPS pledges millions to support justice and reform to advance equality, Atlanta Business Chronicle, June 9, 2020
Humana investing $11.5 million to help ‘rebuild’ and ‘unite’ Louisville, Louisville Business First, June 3, 2020
8. Corporate Backers of the Blue: How Corporations Bankroll U.S. Police Foundations, LittleSis, June 18, 2020
9. The Fraternal Order Of Police: A Union That Stands In The Way Of Police Reforms, NPR, June 8, 2020
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The officers who killed Breonna Taylor are still free, but there’s more to do to hold the Louisville Metro Police Department accountable. We have the power to cut off the department’s funding, starting with corporations who support it.
Click here to tweet at Kroger, UPS, and Humana.
LMPD officers gave contradicting accounts of the night they killed Breonna.1 They refused to announce themselves before breaking into her home, but claimed otherwise.2 They knew Breonna was still alive after they shot her, but they refused to call for medical care and let her struggle for at least five minutes.3 They terrorized protesters demanding justice for Breonna, but allowed racist white militia in Louisville to break city curfew.4
For these reasons and more, funding to the LMPD must be stopped. UPS, Humana, and Kroger have employees on the board of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation, which funnels dark money to the LMPD.5 Tens of thousands of people have already signed the petition demanding LMPD’s corporate sponsors divest from LMPD.
Since protests around Breonna’s killing erupted, these companies have been scrambling to show they support the movement against racist police terror. Will you call them out for not doing enough and push them to stop supporting the LMPD? They pay close attention on Twitter.
Click here to tweet at Kroger, UPS, and Humana.
Thanks for speaking out!
–Shaunna, Kathy, Sonja, Melody, Lindsay, Maria, Kimberly, Elisa, KaeLyn, Katie, Iris, KD, and Bridget, the UltraViolet team
Sources:
1. A shadowy figure, an ‘ambush’: Officers give jumbled accounts of night Breonna Taylor died, USA Today, October 4, 2020
2. Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker: “I’m a million percent sure” police didn’t identify themselves, CBS News, October 13, 2020
3. Breonna Taylor was briefly alive after police shot her. But no one tried to treat her, Louisville Courier Journal, July 17, 2020
4. WATCH LIVE: Breonna Taylor’s family speaks amid unrest after officer acquitted of her death (58:35), PBS Newshour, September 25, 2020
5. The Louisville Metro Police Foundation, Little Sis, July 16, 2020
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It’s been one year since three cops broke down Breonna Taylor’s door in the middle of the night and murdered her.
In the twelve months since, Americans have taken over the streets like never before–demanding justice for Breonna, George Floyd, and every other person on the unacceptably long list of Black Americans killed by police.
Louisville and other communities around the country have adopted some modest reforms, but let’s be clear: justice is far from done.
The three cops who killed Breonna haven’t been charged in her death, and to this day, the police report on her death is largely blank.1 Louisville and other police departments remain armed as if they are preparing for war. Already in 2021, police around the country have murdered 152 people, and a disproportionate number of them are Black.2
That’s why, on the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s murder, we’re running a mobile digital billboard in Louisville to remind her hometown and the world that her life STILL matters.
Will you chip in $5 to support our work and help demand justice for Breonna Taylor?
Breonna Taylor was a an award-winning EMT and first responder who loved helping her patients and her community. A daughter, a friend, and a Black American, she was 26 years old and planning to become a nurse. Her life mattered.
Practically every detail in Breonna’s tragic murder exposes the racism, violence, and utter lack of accountability in America’s policing system. Breonna was asleep when three plainclothes officers broke down her apartment door with a battering ram, around midnight in March. When her boyfriend thought they were intruders and fired a warning shot, they responded with a hail of fire–more than 12 rounds. They watched her die for six minutes rather than seek her medical care.3
The officers weren’t wearing body cameras. Two of them had a documented history of violence and brutality. Twelve months later, none of them have been charged for killing Breonna.
In community after community, the story is the same: cops have military equipment, and they use it disproportionately and brutally on unarmed Black Americans. That’s why we’re demanding that the Louisville Police Department cut its budget by a third.
And we’re calling on Congress to pass the BREATHE Act, which would divest funding for the police, and instead invest in communities, including high-quality health care, housing, education, and transportation. Rather than maintain a heavily militarized and corrupt, punitive system like our current police state, the bill instead gives grants to local communities for non-punitive and community-led approaches to public safety.4
On the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s murder, we’re driving a mobile billboard through Louisville and engaging with Congress to seek justice for her and all Black Americans brutalized and killed by police. We also plan to email and text our more than one million members to encourage the U.S. House of Representatives to pass the BREATHE Act proposed by the Movement for Black Lives. We will make sure that every member of Congress receives every single signature and text message.
Will you chip in $5?
Thanks for speaking out.
–Shaunna, KaeLyn, Kathy, Melody, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Bridget, Katie, Iris, KD, and Elisa, the UltraViolet Action team
DONATE NOW
Sources:
1. Louisville police release Breonna Taylor incident report – it lists her injuries as “none,” CBS News, June 11, 2020
2. Fatal Force, The Washington Post, March 11, 2021
3. Breonna Taylor’s Family Claims She Was Alive After Shooting but Given No Aid, The New York Times, September 23, 2020
4. The Breathe Act, Movement for Black Lives Electoral Justice Project, July 2020
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On March 13, 2020, three Louisville police officers shot Breonna Taylor after breaking into her home. They didn’t even call for medical help for her as she lay dying.1
But despite more than a year of protests calling for justice for Breonna, none of these officers has been criminally charged. In fact, one of the officers involved in Breonna’s killing is still employed by the Louisville police.2
Enough is enough. The officers involved in Breonna’s killing should all be fired and arrested, and they aren’t the only ones. Our allies at Black Lives Matter Louisville have built a database of police officers who have neglected their duties and injured or killed Black people, and we have a plan to turn up the pressure and demand accountability.
Saturday, May 1, is the Kentucky Derby. It’s the biggest media event in Kentucky every year, and with the state in the national spotlight, it’s a prime opportunity to remind the country that Breonna’s killers haven’t been brought to justice. Our plan is to fly an airplane banner over the event and to drive a mobile billboard to force the national media to take notice and demand justice for Breonna. Will you chip in $5?
Yes, I’ll donate $5 and help fund demand the firing and arrest of the police officers who murdered Breonna Taylor.
The officers who killed Breonna Taylor want her to fade from public view. But we won’t let that happen.
Breonna was an award-winning EMT and first responder who loved helping her patients and her community. A daughter, a friend, a Black American, she was 26 years old and planning to become a nurse. Her life mattered.3
The protest movements that followed Breonna’s killing led to the Louisville City Council banning the use of no-knock warrants. Two of the police officers were fired. Many cities around the country are radically reenvisioning the role of police in our communities and beginning to shift resources from punitive criminal justice toward community investment, mental health, and rehabilitation.
But the fact remains that bad cops who kill Black people must be fired. When they escape accountability, it sends a message to other police officers that they will not be held accountable for killing Black people.
The Kentucky Derby is hugely important to the local economy. The state’s top politicians and corporate leaders will all be there, and the last thing they want to focus on is Breonna Taylor. That means we have leverage to our demands, and we’re going to use it.
Our airplane banner and mobile billboard will be impossible to miss, but without your grassroots donations, we will not be able to continue organizing high-profile protests like this one. Will you chip in $5?
Yes, I’ll donate $5 to help demand justice for Breonna Taylor.
–Shaunna, KaeLyn, KD, Kathy, Bridget, Melody, Lindsay, Sonja, Kimberly, Maria, Elisa, Katie, Isatou, and Iris, the UltraViolet team
CONTRIBUTE
Sources:
1. What to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death, New York Times, January 6, 2021
2. A Year After Breonna Taylor’s Killing, Family Says There’s ‘No Accountability,’ NPR, March 13, 2021
3. What to Know About Breonna Taylor’s Death, New York Times, January 6, 2021
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