LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Twelve protesters in Kentucky’s largest city were arrested Saturday night after they blocked roadways, surrounded vehicles, shot paintballs and destroyed property, police said.
Eight people were charged with felonies and four were charged with misdemeanors, Louisville police spokesman Sgt. Lamont Washington said in a statement.
Not all of the charges were available early Sunday, but the Courier-Journal reported some counts included first-degree riot, unlawful assembly and failure to disperse.
Police announced later Sunday that due to more aggressive behavior in the last week, including Saturday, that officers will no longer allow protesters to continue demonstrating in the streets and in caravans.
Beginning Sunday night, all pedestrians must stay out of the streets and neither cars nor pedestrians will be allowed to block intersections for any length of time, police said in a statement. Those who don’t follow the new rules could be cited or arrested, the statement said.
Protests were held much of Saturday in Louisville, including an anti-eviction demonstration and a separate rally calling for action against the police officers involved in shooting Breonna Taylor the night she was killed in her apartment, the newspaper reported.
Taylor, an African American, was shot multiple times March 13 when police officers burst into her Louisville apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found.
One officer has been terminated and two others are on administrative reassignment while authorities investigate.
Global protests on behalf of Taylor, George Floyd in Minnesota and others have been part of a national reckoning over racism and police brutality. Demonstrations have been taking place daily in Louisville since late May.
