Black leaders and community members describe the impact of Breonna Taylor case

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

Local BLM reaction to Breonna Taylor case

Many Black leaders in Southern California especially women, are appalled the charges handed down in the Breonna Taylor case.

The decision from the Grand Jury in the Breonna Taylor case on Wednesday sparked anger and concern from Black leaders and community members.

Sandy Hudson, the Co-Director for BLM Grassroots, spoke to FOX 11.

Loading Video…

This browser does not support the Video element.

Local reactions to Breonna Taylor charges

The decision from the grand jury in the Breonna Taylor case is distressing . Especially people who have been on the front lines for months protesting for Black Lives Matter.

"I am feeling really angry. I'm feeling a sense of despair. I'm feeling really frustrated, but I'm also feeling unsurprised. I never really thought that we were going to see justice from the system because over and over again, the system has made these types of decisions denying justice to Black people," she said.

Hudson spoke about why the Breonna Taylor case is important in the community.

Get breaking news alerts in the FOX 11 News app. Download for iOS or Android.

"We don't often hear about the cases that affect Black women but Black women are also treated terribly at the hands of the police. This [Breonna Taylor case] is a Black woman who was sleeping in her home and then 20 shots were fired into her house and the system has decided that does not merit a further investigation in a court of law. That's absolutely appalling. For those of us who live in this world as Black women, God, I can't even tell you the pain to hear over and over again that your life isn't worth these very basic things," she said.

Hudson talked about the 'fear' people of color face when involved with police encounters.

"How am I supposed to feel anything but terrified when there's a police officer in my vicinity? I know that anything can happen to me and it's very unlikely that the system will want to interrogate that and make sure that I get dealt with appropriately, that my family gets justice," she said.

Fouzia Almarou, the mother of 25-year-old Kenneth Ross Jr, who was shot and killed by a Gardena police officer in 2018, spoke about his case following the Taylor decision. The police report in Ross Jr.'s case said he was the suspect in a shooting on Van Ness Avenue.

Almarou said the police report she saw indicated someone was instead shooting at her son, and she is learning more about her son's case through new video footage. Almarou said the case was mishandled by Jackie Lacey.

"I'm not gonna stop fighting for my son and I'm gonna seek justice all the way until the end because that was my son they murdered in cold blood just like Breonna Taylor," she said.

Hudson said it's difficult to hear about cases like that of Breonna Taylor.

"This matters no matter where we are, we're in LA, that situation is related to what's happened in Louisville, it's related to what's happened in Ferguson. It's related to what happened in Minneapolis. It is so much work and so much despair and people don't understand what's happening for Black people in their lives right now," said Hudson.

Hudson is also calling for police to be defunded in LA and across the country.