On the night of Wednesday, Sept. 23, more than 200 demonstrators gathered at the Oregon State Capitol following the grand jury decision in Breonna Taylor’s case. Taylor, a Black EMT, was shot and killed by Louisville Police during a botched raid on her home in March.
Brett Hankison was the only officer indicted in the grand jury decision. None of the officers were charged directly in the death of Taylor, including the officer whose bullets were determined to have killed Taylor. Hankison was indicted on 3 counts of wanton endangerment, a class D felony. These charges were brought because Hankison fired blindly from outside the apartment, with some shots hitting other apartments.
Following the decision, protests broke out across the country, including in Salem. The protest began around 7 p.m. with a candlelight vigil in honor of Taylor. Demonstrators gathered on the steps of the Capitol, as rain drizzled. They held signs, mostly about Taylor, and candles. Some people held flowers and several had “Black Lives Matter” flags.
Several Black community members spoke, expressing their sadness and anger over her death and the grand jury decision.
“This decision meant more than just a couple people go free. This meant that once again my life doesn’t matter. That’s what this means. That’s why this is so serious,” Julianne Jackson, a Black community leader, told the crowd.
Speakers also highlighted the need for changes to prevent another death like Taylor’s.
“We need to make changes now, not after we have our own Breonna Taylor, not after we have our own Kenosha moment,” Jackson said.
At 8 p.m., demonstrators took to the streets of Salem, filling Court St. and marching down towards the riverfront.
The route they took formed a loop, marching down Court St. a couple blocks, turning right and then marching up Chemeketa St. After 20-25 minutes, the crowd made it back to the steps of the Capitol.
As the crowd marched, they called out a variety of different chants, although they repeatedly returned to “Say her name, Breonna Taylor.” Other chants included “Black lives matter,” “No justice, no peace,” “ACAB, all cops are bastards,” “No justice, no peace, no racist police,” and more.
In a switch from normal chants at Salem protests the crowd also chanted “No cops, no prisons, total abolition.” This chant is common at Portland protests, but rare in Salem. Another one said almost nightly in Portland, but rarely in Salem, “Stay together, stay tight,” was also chanted as demonstrators waited for those at the end to catch up.
As they marched, several people would periodically run ahead to block intersections with their bodies, allowing the crowd to pass through safely.
After the march, the crowd gathered again at the bottom of the Capitol steps. Someone took to the megaphone and thanked the crowd for being there and marching, saying that everyone played an important role that night.
Following this speech, the crowd began to chat amongst themselves. The number of people gathered slowly dwindled. At the same time, someone had a speaker and was playing music, including “Stand Up” by Cynthia Erivo.
Around 8:40 p.m., demonstrators began to write messages on the wall of the Capitol building. The dozens of messages were written across the front of the building and on the metal doors. On the walls, the writing read “Breonna Taylor,” “Black Lives Matter” “F*** 12,” “ACAB,” “Enough is Enough,” “Say Her Name,” “Defund SPD” and more.
One series of messages was directed at the lawmakers that work in the Capitol and Governor Brown. It demanded another special session to address police brutality.
There were drawings as well as written messages. One depicted a bed with bleeding bullet holes in the covers in honor of Breonna Taylor who was originally thought to have been in her bed when she was shot. The NY Times now reports that she and her boyfriend had gotten out of bed when they heard pounding on the door.
Another series of messages targeted members of the embattled Salem-Keizer School Board. The board has faced criticism from the community at large for actions in board meetings, including when one member, Paul Kyllo, wore a mask of a Black basketball player to show that Zoom meetings are not secure and none of the others called him out. They have also received criticism for their actions online, such as when another member, Marty Heyen, posted on Facebook that this could be the last conservative school board.
The messages went after Heyen and Kyllo, as well as Jesse Lippold and Danielle Bethell. They called Heyen a “white supremacist” and Lippold a “Proud Boy Sympathizer.” All four have faced calls for resignation.
The metal doors of the Capitol also had writing. The messages included “Decolonize U.S.” and “Stolen Land.”
Writing on the doors of the Capitol reads “Decolonize U.S.” and “Stolen Land.” Photo by Eddy Binford-Ross
At the end of the protest, a few people with one of the organizers realized that a couple of the messages had been written in paint pen, along with the chalk. They expressed disappointment and frustration that someone would do that.
Around 9:20 p.m., someone brought out a possum and many of the remaining few dozen people gathered around to pet it and take pictures.
By 9:45 p.m., the crowd had completely dispersed and only a couple people were left at the Capitol.
Breonna Taylor Background
Taylor was shot and killed in her home by Louisville Police earlier this year. The NY Times reported that although the police received approval for a “no-knock” warrant, the order was changed prior to the raid and officers were supposed to knock and identify themselves. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, survived the shooting and maintains that he did not hear any identification from officers.
Walker told police that they heard a loud banging on the door and asked who it was, fearing that it was Taylor’s estranged ex-boyfriend who was at the center of the police investigation, according to NY Times reporting. When officers broke down the door, Walker fired a single shot, still unaware of their identification, hitting one of the officers, Sgt. Mattingly, in the leg. Officers then shot Taylor several times and did not administer aid, killing her.
Earlier this month, officials in Louisville settled the wrongful death lawsuit that was brought by Taylor’s mom. The city agreed to pay $12 million. Some reforms have been passed as a result, including a ban on no-knock warrants, a new body camera requirement and a civilian review board. Hankison was the only officer who was fired as a result of an investigation into the officers’ conduct that night.
