In an urgent press statement released to the public on Monday, the police chief of Louisville, Kentucky declared a state of emergency as the city prepares for Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's announcement on charges in the case of Breonna Taylor.
Louisville's police chief preemptively declares a state of emergency in anticipation of an announcement about Breonna Taylor's case.
This is as clear a sign as any that justice and accountability are not forthcoming. #SayHerName
pic.twitter.com/OyBuI4Qr3G— African American Policy Forum (@AAPolicyForum) September 21, 2020
The Louisville Courier Journal reports the Louisville Metro Police Department has
According to CNN, the Gene Snyder United States Courthouse has also been shut down for the week and a number of news outlets took photos of the courthouse with boards over the windows.
"The public may also see barriers being staged around downtown, which is another part of our preparations," police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington told CNN.
Ahead of Cameron's announcement, a spokesman for Mayor Greg Fischer even admitted the city had called in the now notorious Federal Protective Service, which the Brennan Center called the "private army" of President Donald Trump.
The same officers have been at the center of controversy in cities like Portland, where they have been seen on camera attacking elderly women and anyone that steps foot on the sidewalk near a federal building, according to The New York Times.
Jean Porter, director of communications for Fischer, said in an interview with CNN that the armed officers were being brought in to watch over the Snyder Courthouse, Mazzoli Building, U.S. Attorney's Office and an ICE office.
As Blavity previously reported, Cameron has spent months facing criticism for moving slowly in charging the three officers who shot Taylor to death while she was in her home on March 13. While Taylor's family and thousands of protesters have been waiting for charges for months, Cameron has gotten married, spoken at the Republican National Conversation, and taken multiple tours of the White House with Trump.
He has used the high-profile nature of Taylor's case to vault himself into conservative stardom, and was even featured on a list of potential Supreme Court candidates.
The state of emergency had many on social media inferring that Cameron planned to let Detective Myles Cosgrove, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and ex-Detective Brett Hankison off the hook for spraying more than 20 shots into Taylor's apartment.
On Monday, the Louisville Metro Police Department announced that Mattingly, Hankison and four other police officials would be facing internal investigations for their role in the raid on Taylor's home, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
In addition to Mattingly and Hankison, detective Joshua Jaynes, who signed the affidavit that led to the raid, and detectives Tony James, Michael Campbell and Michael Nobles will all be investigated for violating department policies.
