Video shows deputy striking man with riot shield during Breonna Taylor protest in West Hollywood
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Five of the six protesters arrested during a third night of protests in the name of Breonna Taylor -- the Black woman fatally shot by Louisville, Kentucky police in a botched drug raid in March -- have been cited and released, a sheriff's watch sergeant said Saturday.
The sixth protester remains in custody on a separate charge that could not be cited out, according to a watch sergeant at the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's West Hollywood station. The sergeant did not immediately know what the charge was.
Meanwhile, a new video emerged Saturday that appeared to show a deputy striking a man on the ankles multiple times with a riot shield while the man was face-down on the ground and not resisting arrest.
The watch sergeant said that he knew nothing about the video, but the Los Angeles Times cited a department spokesman who said the department was aware of the video, and that an investigation was being conducted into the use of force during Friday night's arrests.
The demonstrators gathered at 7 p.m. Friday at William S. Hart Park, located at 8341 De Longpre Ave., near Sunset Boulevard, in West Hollywood. About 50 marchers were spotted going northbound on La Cienega Boulevard to join the rally shortly after 8 p.m.
In anticipation of the protest, the intersections of Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive and Sunset and Hayvenhurst Drive were ordered closed from 5 p.m. Friday through Saturday morning by the Sheriff's West Hollywood Station, according to the station's watch commander.
"Several acts of vandalism took place, at which point an Unlawful Assembly was declared and an Order to Disperse was issued to the protesters," said Sgt. Jennifer M. Roth of the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station.
"After the order was given, two pickup trucks were seen driving recklessly on Sunset Boulevard with multiple subjects hanging out of the truck beds. Both vehicles then blocked traffic taking over the street on Sunset Boulevard, near San Vicente Boulevard," Roth said.
"Deputies approached and detained approximately 10 adults. Six adults were subsequently arrested," she said. "The charges included reckless driving, unsecured passengers in a truck bed, taking over the streets, battery on a peace officer, lynching, resisting/obstructing deputies, and failure to disperse."
California Penal Code 405a PC defines lynching as "a person who participates in the taking by means of a riot of another person from the lawful custody of a peace officer," according to the California State Legislature's leg info web site.
One of the pickup trucks was black and it was similar to one involved in a Hollywood incident Thursday night.
RELATED: One person hurt as two vehicles drive thru Breonna Taylor protest in Hollywood
The driver of a white Prius tried to get around the protest as it moved down Sunset Boulevard, near Vine Street, and became surrounded by protesters, some of whom allegedly struck and damaged the car.
The driver of a black pickup police believe was involved in the protest followed the Prius for about a block and "forced the Prius to come to a stop," police said. The Prius reversed and hit a green Ford Mustang.
Police allege the occupants of the Mustang and the pickup began striking the Prius, and tried to "extract the driver of the Prius from his vehicle" before he drove off. No injuries were reported.
Officers later pulled the Prius driver over and he cooperated with their investigation.
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was fatally shot in her apartment early on March 13 by officers executing a search warrant, according to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
A no-knock warrant had been issued in the case. It was connected to a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found inside.
The Louisville City Council later voted unanimously to pass "Breonna's Law," banning "no-knock" warrants.
Earlier this week. the city of Louisville approved a $12 Million settlement with Taylor's family.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove were advised by superiors to knock and announce their presence in serving the search warrant, Cameron said.
Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was at the home during the after-midnight raid, said he believed an intruder had entered.
The officers' statements about their announcement were corroborated by an independent witness near Taylor's apartment, Cameron said. However, nearly a dozen other witnesses stated that they heard no such announcement, nor did they hear knocking.
Cameron said that when officers were unable to get anyone to answer or open the door to the apartment, the decision was made to breach the door.
Mattingly, the only officer to enter the residence, says he saw a woman standing beside a man at the end of a hall, and that he had a gun in a shooting stance, then saw the gun being fired and immediately felt heat in his upper thigh as a result of a gunshot wound, Cameron said.
Walker fired that single shot at a person he says he believed to be a home invader, while Mattingly fired six shots in return, striking Taylor five times.
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Almost simultaneously, Cosgrove, also in the doorway area, fired off 16 rounds in a matter of seconds and Hankison fired 10 times, including from outside a sliding glass door and through a bedroom window, and some of those bullets traveled through Taylor's apartment and into a neighboring apartment, occupied at the time by a man, a pregnant woman and a child, Cameron said.
An ambulance had not been stationed outside during the raid, and Taylor bled out while inside her apartment.
A Jefferson County grand jury on Wednesday decided no officers will face charges for Taylor's death.
Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment over the shots fired into the neighboring apartment, a Class D felony. He was fired by the LMPD on June 23.
The investigation found that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Walker, Cameron said.
"Breonna Taylor was sleeping when police raided her apartment and killed her. She deserves justice. Breonna -- and all Black Americans -- deserve a system of policing that prioritizes justice and dignity over fear and bigotry, so a tragedy like this never happens again," Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, tweeted Thursday.
Black Lives Matter founder and Executive Director Patrisse Cullors, who is based in Los Angeles, said she was "completely mortified that our criminal justice system has failed Breonna Taylor, her family and friends, and frankly, it has failed our country."
"We are going to continue the work that we have started in the name of Breonna Taylor and countless Black lives cut short at the hands of police brutality, systemic racism, and white supremacy," Cullors said.
More Los Angeles-area protests decrying the Breonna Taylor case are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday. These include:
Saturday:
• 9:30 a.m. HOLLYWOOD - a "Justice for Breonna" march, Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue
• Noon SIMI VALLEY - a protest to honor Breonna Taylor and demand justice, Tapo Canyon and Alamo Street
• 6 p.m. SHERMAN OAKS - a "Candlelight Vigil for Breonna Taylor," Sherman Oaks Galleria, Ventura and Sepulveda boulevards (in front of the fountain)
Sunday:
• 11 a.m. LA CANADA - a "Justice for Breonna Taylor" rally, intersection of Angeles Crest Highway and Foothill Boulevard