“Welcome come on in! Food up the ramp. Bathrooms that way!” Pastor Dawn Cooley shouted to the growing crowd Friday night. The Director of the KY Unitarian Justice Action Network was just one of the pastors who guided hundreds of demonstrators into First Unitarian Church. They had been in Jefferson Square Park and marching through the city earlier in the day, still angry over the announcement from KY Attorney General Daniel Cameron that only one officer who executed a no-knock warrant at Breonna Taylor's apartment that led to her fatal shooting last March would be charged. And those charges had nothing to do with Taylor's death. Former LMPD detective Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment for firing blindly into a neighboring apartment with three people inside, including a child and a pregnant woman.
The grounds opened the night before to keep protestors who were out after the city's 9:00 pm curfew from being arrested. “When they disrupted the crowd that was gathering for a rally at injustice square a member of this congregation and the minister here were in the crowd and they conferred and they were like all right we’re opening the church. And so people came and it was spontaneous community.”
On Friday night, neighboring Calvary Episcopalian joined them. Police were nowhere to be seen until residents of a high-rise apartment complex began throwing golf balls onto a group gathered in front of the churches below. One LMPD officer announced with a bullhorn “This is an unlawful assembly. Please disperse north to the square.”
Calvary’s Brother Tim was quick to intervene. “This church property has been declared sanctuary!” The officer said, “We are not here for that.” He explained that LMPD had been called to find the suspect who was tossing items from the high-rise and to make sure no one was hurt. He then urged everyone to go home and promised no one would be arrested for leaving the area.
Police soon left the scene and most of the protesters returned to their cars at Jefferson Square, which they have renamed injustice park. Brother Tim, Pastor Cooley and church members said they will open their doors as long as Louisville’s curfew remains in effect.