Anger over Breonna Taylor’s killing and the prosecutors’ handling of the case has spread far from Louisville, with protests on Wednesday night drawing crowds in cities around the nation. Some rallies, like those in Portland, Maine, and Memphis, were small but vocal, while protests in Seattle and Portland, Ore., were effectively declared riots after demonstrators set fires and threw explosives at the police.
Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of New York, including a group in Brooklyn that met outside the Barclays Center and swelled to around 2,000 people as it marched across the Manhattan Bridge and shut down traffic.
In Portland, Ore., a person in a crowd of protesters threw a Molotov cocktail at a line of police officers, sending the officers running for safety as flames erupted on the street.
About 100 people joined the Rev. Michael Pfleger in a march on Chicago’s South Side, stopping to shut down traffic in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood for about an hour.
In Seattle, about 200 protesters in raincoats and ponchos marched through downtown.
The New York Times has photographers on the ground following protests across the country.
Louisville
Protesters poured into the streets in Louisville after the grand jury announcement.
The demonstrators called for all three officers, who are white, to be held to account for Ms. Taylor’s death in March.
Ms. Taylor’s death, which came months before George Floyd was killed by the Minneapolis police, became a rallying cry for racial justice protesters nationwide.
Law enforcement secured the area where a police officer was shot on Wednesday night.
At least two police officers were shot shortly before a 9 p.m. curfew.
New York City
Demonstrators gathered outside of Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night.
The crowd there swelled to around 2,000 people.
Protesters marched across the Manhattan Bridge.
Chicago
About 100 people marched on Chicago’s South Side, stopping to shut down traffic in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood for about an hour.
The protesters used a gallon of fake blood to spell “Breonna” in the middle of the intersection, and then sat in the street and chanted, “We want justice, we want it now.”
Atlanta
Demonstrators gathered on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol.
Members of the National Guard were also posted outside of the State Capitol.
Seattle
People gathered to pay tribute to Ms. Taylor during a protest in Seattle.
Protesters lit candles and placed flowers at a vigil outside of the U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Portland, Ore.
Law enforcement and protesters clashed during protests on Wednesday night.
Protesters gathered outside of the Multnomah County Justice Center, the site of more than 100 nights of demonstrations in Portland.
