LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Following the news of former Louisville Metro Police Detective Kelly Goodlett admitting to several lies in the Breonna Taylor warrant, activists came together to make their voices heard.
It's an ongoing effort for charges to be dropped against protestors who were arrested during the 2020 demonstrations seen all over the nation and especially in Louisville.
When it comes to how these cases are dealt with, many were vocal Wednesday evening that they want to see charges dropped altogether for arrests against protestors, saying they wouldn't have been out there, should these officers have not lied on the warrants resulting in Taylor's death.
"Anybody that has charges - expunge them, exonerate these people, none of us would have been out here. None of us," activist Hannah Drake said.
Activist Bruce Sweeney said city leaders want their help to move the city forward, but he doesn't know how they can with charges hanging over them.
"How can people like me and people like Breeway help? If we have so many charges? Pending charges, that stopped me from helping get into the system," Sweeney said.
Drake said the warrant for Taylor's apartment should have never been executed in the first place.
"What is the DOJ doing now? Following the warrant that Judge Mary Shaw should have never signed but they took to her because they knew she wouldn't scrutinize it," Drake said.
Drake noted if charges are going to remain against them, she wants accountability for everyone involved, including Shaw, who is up for reelection.
"She essentially signed Breonna Taylor's death certificate. Breonna Taylor didn't even know the clock was ticking," Drake said.
Chris Will, the president of FIRM Initiative, said as more information comes out, they feel it's enough to see those charges dropped.
"You can't call us thugs and looters and rioters in this moment because the thugs and looters and rioters are in that building right there, man," Will said.
Drake said there's a deeper root to all of this.
"Breonna was collateral damage. And I'm gonna say why; because she was a black woman and no one gave a [expletive]," she said.
WHAS11 spoke with representatives from the County Attorney's Office. They said cases are moving forward, including one where 26 people were arrested for blocking traffic on the Clark Memorial Bridge in June 2020.
Jury selection in that case begins Nov. 3.
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