Man shot and killed after firing on police as protests went on in Louisville

Published:
Louisville police shooting. Photo via CBS News

A man in Louisville was shot and killed by police just after midnight Monday morning, reports the CBS affiliate there, WLKY-TV. Officers say they were fired at before opening fire. It came on a night when demonstrators protested George Floyd’s killing.

Police said they were trying to clear a large crowd in a parking lot, WLKY says.

The station reports that an onlooker said people at the scene weren’t protesting and were just ignoring the city’s curfew. It wasn’t clear whether the dead man was a suspect in what authorities said was the initial gunfire.

The station reports at least 40 people were arrested at demonstrations in Louisville Sunday night.

Louisville was home to Breonna Taylor, who was in bed with her boyfriend when a trio of armed men smashed through the front door in March. Gunfire erupted and Taylor was killed.

The three men turned out to be plainclothes police detectives, one of whom was wounded in the chaos and violence that March night.

Taylor’s death led to protests and a review of how Louisville police use “no knock” search warrants, which allow officers to enter a home without announcing their presence, often in drug cases to prevent suspects from getting rid of a stash.

Taylor’s name is one of those being chanted during nationwide protests decrying police killings of black people. The unrest began after the death of George Floyd, a black man who pleaded that he couldn’t breathe as a white Minneapolis police officer pinned him to the ground with a knee.

More than two months after Taylor’s death, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced last week that the police department’s use of no-knock warrants has been suspended indefinitely.

First published on June 1, 2020 / 5:20 AM

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