NFL player Kenny Stills arrested at protest for Breonna Taylor in Louisville
Houston Texans wide receiver Kenny Stills was one of the dozens of protesters who were arrested Tuesday outside the home of Kentucky's attorney general. Stills, 28, was protesting the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black emergency technician who was killed by police in March.
Stills, a longtime advocate of racial justice, was one of 87 people arrested and charged with intimidating a participant in a legal process, which is a felony in Kentucky. They were also charged with disorderly conduct and criminal trespassing.
Police said the protesters were on the front yard of Attorney General Daniel Cameron's home and refused to leave the property when told they were trespassing.
"Arrested for peacefully protesting. While Breonnas Taylor's murderers are still out on the street," Stills tweeted Wednesday.
The attorney general's office is investigating the shooting of Taylor, who was killed when police performed a "no-knock" warrant on her home. Cameron, in a statement, said he would not let the protests influence his decision.
"From the beginning, our office has set out to do its job, to fully investigate the events surrounding the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor. We continue with a thorough and fair investigation, and today's events will not alter our pursuit of the truth," the statement said.
"Justice is not achieved by trespassing on private property, and it's not achieved through escalation. It's achieved by examining the facts in an impartial and unbiased manner. That is exactly what we are doing and will continue to do in this investigation."
Taylor, 26, was killed on March 13 when officers entered her home during a drug raid. Officials claimed the officers knocked on the door and announced themselves, and only started shooting after they were "immediately met by gunfire" from Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. But Taylor's family said in a lawsuit that the officers did not identify themselves and that Walker - a licensed gun owner - thought someone was trying to break in.
In the wake of Taylor's death, Louisville passed a ban on "no-knock" warrants, which allowed police to enter a home without first announcing their presence. Brett Hankison, one of the officers involved in Taylor's death, was fired in June. Two other officers have been placed on administrative leave.
Jordan Freiman and Victoria Albert contributed to this report.
