Protesters marking the anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death clashed with police officers in Hollywood late on Saturday – with a wild video showing a police vehicle driving away with someone clinging to its hood.
At least 200 people went to Hollywood and Vine late Saturday, calling for justice for Taylor, who was shot dead by police in Louisville, Kentucky, in a failed operation a year ago, KABC said.
At one point, a group of protesters dressed all in black – some holding umbrellas as smoke filled the air around them – were filmed blocking a line of at least six LAPD patrol cars trying to pass.
After one protester blocked the way to the main car, another one came and hit the hood – with both of them climbing on the hood, video shot by Sean Carmitchel shows.
The car then left, with one of the protesters managing to jump, but the other remained on the hood while the police car was leaving, chased by a group of spectators shouting.
“Holy crap!” someone was heard screaming, along with repeated screams of “Doctor! Doctor! Doctor! Doctor!”
Carmitchel later said that the the protester in the car was not seriously injured. The Los Angeles Police Department’s Operations Center told KABC it had few details about the incident.
It happened during a night of tense clashes with police in shock equipment, the police said.
The images also showed scribbled graffiti around the area, including “die pigs” and “f – k 12”, a common anti-police message used during the protests.
Taylor’s front door was breached by Louisville police as part of an anti-drug operation in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired his gun once, later saying that he feared an intruder was entering the apartment.
A police officer was hit and he and two other officers fired 32 shots into the apartment, hitting Taylor five times.
A grand jury indicted a police officer on charges of dangerousness in September for shooting at a neighbor’s apartment, but no police officer was charged with Taylor’s death.
A Kentucky judge last week signed an order permanently ending a criminal case against Walker for shooting the police officer.
Walker filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department on Friday, alleging that his constitutional rights were violated during the failed operation.
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