LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The highly anticipated decision in the Breonna Taylor case was watched around the world and comes after more than 100 days of protests centered around Jefferson Square Park.
Moments before the announcement, crowds waited anxiously for an update on the case from Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and the grand jury's recommendation.
"I am hoping that Lousiville can find it in it's heart to deliver justice and then peace and then healing so we can go forward as a community together," Sadiqa Reynolds, CEO of the Louisville Urban League said.
Word of the grand jury's decision played over an intercom. At first there was only quiet and then the reality started to sink in.
The grand jury recommended three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment charges for Brett Hankison, a former LMPD officer, for firing his gun into a nearby apartment the night Taylor was killed by police.
Charges were not recommended for the other officers involved that night. Attorney General Cameron said the use of deadly force by Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Det. Myles Cosgrove was justified after Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired at officers when they entered the apartment.
At first there was only quiet in the crowd. Then the reality started to sink in.
The group called each other to the street as anger and sadness welled up to the surface. They marched and chanted Breonna Taylor's name.
The group started downtown, moving more than four miles into the Highlands where some neighbors came out of their homes in tears.
"This is really heartbreaking, you know. My heart goes out to the family- this is really heartbreaking. It's sad because all they have to do is arrest the officers. That's it," said one woman in the Highlands.
Hours into the march, the dynamic took a turn with patio furniture flipped over and windows of businesses shattered.
Police ramped up their response, shooting pepper balls trying to get the crowd under control and then making arrests.
"This is not just going to pass over. It's not going to blow over. We are not going back to business as usual. We are not going back at all," Pastor Williams told WHAS11.
Calm followed what happened in the Highlands for a short time, but as night set in, frustrations filled downtown.
For so many in Louisville, the pain is palpable and the wait for justice continues.
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