Ramin Mazaheri
Press TV, Chicago
In March, 26-year old medical worker Breonna Taylor was gunned down by cops who burst into her apartment while serving what’s known as a “no-knock” warrant which allows police to not identify themselves.
The case sparked international outcry and 120 days of continuous protests in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. The protests appear to have gone unheeded as courts declared there will be no charges filed against the policemen involved in the killing of Taylor, and not even a trial.
Many African-Americans call Taylor a martyr whose death was required to finally ban the use of dangerous “no knock” warrants, as Louisville officials did in June. The cops involved were fired, which in the United States is actually a rare, if relatively minor, punishment for a policeman.
There is no national system for reporting police misconduct, and many states do not even release details about police wrongdoing. But analysts estimate that for the 1,000 citizens who are killed every year by police in the United States, only five cops were actually convicted for murder.
The rich areas in many American cities have gone under police lockdown and curfew yet again in 2020, as many expect prolonged and violent protests to possible result from this latest example of police brutality. Many citizens side with the protesters, and blame the social chaos on the nation’s incredibly brutal but rarely sanctioned security forces.
Over 100 arrests of protesters were made in Louisville, and two police officers were also shot and suffered non-life threatening wounds. Many are calling for a release of the report which produced the decision to not indict and try the officers, alleging that the information presented was designed to produce exoneration in the murder of Breonna Taylor.