West Coast cities erupt in violence on Breonna Taylor anniversary

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Major cities on the West Coast were among those seeing riots and protests Saturday night as demonstrators marked the one-year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death in a police raid in Louisville, Kentucky.

Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland all saw clashes between crowds and police, with numerous arrests reported.

In Los Angeles, some demonstrators smashed store windows and threw rocks at police officers in Hollywood.

Social media videos showed police officers in riot gear near the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street near the Hollywood Walk of Fame. One social media video showed a protester jumping on a police cruiser as it sped away.

At least one officer was injured in the clashes, police said, according to an on-air report from KNBC-TV in Los Angeles. The officer’s condition was not reported.

It was unclear if any protesters were injured.

BREONNA TAYLOR 'ARMED' PROTESTERS PROMPT LOUISVILLE POLICE TO DECLARE 'UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY' 

Bed Bath and Beyond, a CVS pharmacy and an Asian restaurant were among the businesses vandalized by rioters, according to KNBC and social media videos.

Police did not immediately report if any protesters have been arrested. 

Earlier, hundreds of protesters had marched and celebrated Taylor’s life peacefully in Hollywood and other parts of the city.

Seattle

In Seattle, videos posted to social media early Sunday showed police moving aggressively against demonstrators.

In one video, police on bicycles are seen making arrests, while another video showed police in a van as they followed a group of marchers.

Earlier, a violent clash broke out as police used pepper spray while moving in against a crowd.

A downtown Starbucks shop was seen with smashed windows and spray-painted messages on the outside.

Police were also monitoring a group that they believed had been dragging construction signs and other items into the street in an apparent bid to block vehicles.

The Seattle Police Department tweets about 4 a.m. Saturday ET that they had made 13 arrests.

Portland

In Portland, a federal courthouse in the downtown area appeared to be the main staging area for another faceoff with authorities.

Just one night earlier, police had made 13 arrests and "kettled" about 100 demonstrators before allowing them to leave one by one, according to reports.

Last week’s protests outside the courthouse came soon after authorities removed a barrier that had been in place outside the building.

On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, new messages were seen spray-painted outside the courthouse, including, "Police are murderers."

Taylor, who was Black, was killed on March 13, 2020, when a group of Louisville Metro Police Department officers entered her apartment on a no-knock raid.

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Taylor’s boyfriend fired at the officers, thinking they were burglars, he later told police, and the officers fired back. Taylor was shot and killed by officers in the crossfire.

The officers later said they had announced their presence in the apartment. No drugs were found inside. 

Taylor’s family and their supporters have been seeking the prosecution of city police officers who participated in the raid that led to Taylor’s death. Three police officers have been fired and one detective was charged for allegedly shooting into adjacent apartments during the raid but none has been charged in connection with Taylor’s death.

Authorities in Kentucky stress that their investigation is continuing.

There were also protests and celebrations of her life in Louisville Saturday.

"Eyes are on Louisville, Kentucky, today so let's show America what community looks like," Taylor's aunt, Bianca Austin, told a group in the city Saturday, KABC-TV in Los Angeles reported.