COLUMBUS, Ohio — Protesters in Columbus took to the streets hours after hearing the decision in the Breonna Taylor case. Just before 6 p.m. Wednesday, protesters started gathering at the corner of Broad and High streets near the Statehouse, and then shortly after that, they began to march.
They were among hundreds of protesters across Ohio and the country outraged by a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge any police officers in the death of Taylor, 26, who was shot in her own home by officers serving a search warrant. Former officer Brett Hankinson, one of three officers connected to the case, was charged with wanton endangerment for his actions that night. But those charges stemmed from shots he fired into a neighboring apartment—not the shots that killed Taylor.
Protesters hurt by the grand jury indictment didn’t hold in their frustration as they said justice wasn’t served.
“It’s basically to pacify us just like they did with the Trayvon Martin case,” said Shanell Humphries.
As they marched through the streets, protesters began to shout in unison.
“Hands up, don’t shoot. Hands up, don’t shoot.”
Humphries said she still struggles with doubt over when real change will ever come because the killing of Black people keeps happening over and over again.
“Something has to change,” she said. “Hopefully, this election (will cause) change, but I don’t think so. I think we’re going to be fighting for a very long time before.”
Protests also broke out in Cincinnati and Cleveland Wednesday. In Louisville, the heart of the case, protests continued past the city’s curfew. A few officers were shot, around 100 people were arrested and some businesses were damaged and looted.
