All charges dropped in Kentucky lawmaker’s rioting case

State Rep. Attica Scott helped enact "Breonna's Law," which will ban no-knock warrants in Kentucky.

Nov 16, 2020

Charges brought against protestors seeking justice for Breonna Taylor in Kentucky have been dropped.

State Rep. Attica Scott took to Twitter on Monday to announce that the felony and misdemeanor charges against her and other protestors who were rallying for justice for Taylor are dropped.

“ALL CHARGES HAVE JUST BEEN DROPPED! Thank you to all of our justice seekers, people who called, emailed and tagged the County Attorney on social media. You got it done! Our work continues as we seek justice for Breonna Taylor.”

https://twitter.com/atticascott4ky/status/1328400484332396552?s=20

Scott represents Kentucky’s District 41. The day after she was arrested, she told WLKY News, “They (LMPD) claimed we were trying to burn down the library which doesn’t make sense because I’ve been fighting for more funding for the libraries and the library is in my district. So, why would I try to burn it down? Makes no sense.”

Scott and 18 others were taken into custody after it was announced that the grand jury would only charge former LMPD officer Brett Hankinson in the Taylor case and only with wanton endangerment for putting her neighbors at risk. Hankinson was fired by the department in June.

Taylor, an EMT, was killed in a no-knock raid at her Louisville apartment building when her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired on police believing they were intruders. Walker, a legal gun owner, was arrested but ultimately released without being charged.

Protests Erupt Across U.S. After Charges In Death Of Breonna Taylor Are Announced — A protester walks toward Portland police with a sign honoring Breonna Taylor on September 23, 2020 in Portland, United States. Violent protests erupted across the nation Wednesday following the results of a grand jury investigation into the police shooting death of Taylor. (Photo by Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Scott’s daughter was included with the group that was charged with two misdemeanors; failure to disperse and unlawful assembly. They were also charged with first-degree rioting, which is a felony. All of those charges have been dropped.

“Legally, for a few of us who have been arrested this is over. We got the misdemeanor charges dropped, but this is not justice for Breonna Taylor. There’s still work to do and we still have 500 of our comrades still facing unjust charges so we’ve got to continue fighting for them to get those charges dropped, as well,” said Scott.

Months following Taylor’s March 13 death, Scott pre-filed to enact Breonna’s Law, which will bans no-knock warrants in Kentucky. The Louisville metro council voted to pass the law in June.

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