It's settled: Breonna Taylor protesters who blocked bridge to no longer stand trial
The trial is off.
Twelve days before Breonna Taylor protesters were expected to face a jury for blocking traffic on the Clark Memorial Bridge, prosecutors announced the remaining defendants had agreed to settle their cases.
Jefferson District Judge Anne Haynie had approved combining cases for 26 protesters into one trial in August. And in the weeks since, each defendant has agreed to complete 20 hours of volunteer service in exchange for having their misdemeanor charges dismissed and expunged from their records.
“We believe this was a just offer in recognition that the actions of these individuals could have placed members of our community, including themselves, in danger," Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said in a statement Wednesday.
Background:Prosecutors want 26 Breonna Taylor protesters to be tried together. Is that even possible?
O'Connell's office previously reviewed more than 1,000 arrests stemming from racial justice protests in 2020 and 2021 and dismissed 70% of them, according to a Courier Journal analysis. But it moved forward with more than 200 cases involving violence, threats of violence, property damage and road blocking — including the bridge protest on June 29, 2020.
That day, protesters associated with Black Lives Matter Louisville used vehicles and "a makeshift wall" to block traffic on the passageway between downtown Louisville and Southern Indiana, according to court documents filed by assistant Jefferson County attorneys Rebecca Schroering and Lindsay Beets.
The protesters carried a faux coffin with the message "Rest in Power" written on it, and they hung a large banner bearing Taylor's face from the side of the bridge, which was closed for more than three hours.
More:Why most protesters arrested by Louisville police will never be convicted of a crime
Louisville Metro Police arrested a total of 44 people during the protest and charged each with obstructing a highway and disorderly conduct. The county attorney's office previously moved to dismiss the latter charge for all defendants.
While racial justice advocates have called on the county attorney to drop all charges against protesters, attorney Ted Shouse, who represented several bridge demonstration defendants, said the settlements are a step in the right direction.
"I think it’s an acknowledgement by the county that this protest should not result in a criminal conviction," he said. "... They didn't say we'll agree to no jail time, which is pretty standard. Here, they're saying we're agreeing to not only no jail time, but if you do volunteer work, it will be set aside, dismissed and expunged.
"There's no reason to brand these people as people who've been convicted of crimes."
The county attorney's office estimates 52 protest-related cases remain open, with 25 having pending court dates. Twenty-seven of the cases have bench warrants following a failure to appear in court.
Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at bloosemore@courier-journal.com, 502-582-4646 or on Twitter @bloosemore. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: https://www.courier-journal.com/baileyl.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor protest cases in Louisville settled before trial
