LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — George Floyd's death sparked a movement across the country for social justice and police accountability.
The names of Floyd and Breonna Taylor rang through the downtown streets of Lexington for weeks after the video of Floyd's death at the hands of Derek Chauvin surfaced. On Tuesday, protesters stopped once again in the front of police headquarters.
Just days after Floyd's death, April Taylor started leading marches for justice through downtown Lexington. That mission is still ongoing.
"I think it is really more of a pause to say 'Look, it has been an entire year, we still don't have really meaningful change,'" Taylor said.
Right now, Taylor and the group LPD Accountability are petitioning for three key changes. Those changes include funding a citizen's liaison position to assist citizens with filing complaints against police officers, the banning of no knock warrants and requiring the release of body cam footage within three days of a critical or use of force incident.
One of those incidents in the striking of Liam Long by a police cruiser. After more than a month in the hospital, Long is back home but still recovering. He came out to Tuesday's march alongside his mother Kendra.
Kendra Long is calling for more of the camera footage to be released from when her son was hit and says LPD Accountability's support and education has been critical, which is why they came out tonight. Liam said he is progressing.
"Yeah I am healing, I'm healing. I came out here just because my mom came out here. And I haven't been to a protest so I wanted to come," Liam Long said.
"I told him now his only job is to be a civil rights advocate," Kendra Long explained. "That is what he's going to do when he grows up."
"I want to support that because George Floyd, that was wrong. It was not necessary at all," Liam Long said.
