city didn’t get destroyed, but in a way, what can you expect when, you know, people have been shouting about these things and shouting for so long, and then these things continue to happen?

TIMOTHY FINDLEY, 41

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

[When they announced the judge’s decision] I was actually at the square— that’s where the memorial is for Breonna Taylor, and it’s been the rallying point for the protest. Myself, those other protest leaders, Until Freedom, we were all there. And we listened to the list of charges and the lack thereof— we listened to it there live, at the square. It’s hard to explain just how much of a gut punch that was. That’s the best way I can put it. What grabbed my attention was that people didn’t react immediately. It took probably about ten minutes for most people to actually grab hold of what just happened. And then after it began to sink in, I was sitting there like, “Nah, I mean, somebody’s coming back on. Somebody’s gonna say something. They’re not ending with that. I know they just didn’t give a $15,000 bond. Oh, and by the way, did they just put us on a curfew? This is—no, there’s got to be something more coming.” And when it was clear that was not going to happen and what we had heard was their idea of justice in this moment, about ten minutes later, you just heard crying, there was visible emotion, anger. You know, you have people who, for 120-plus days, have done nothing but protest. They put their families and other things on the side to join into this cause. And that was a potentially deflating moment.

But our city is very resilient. We’re still disappointed. We’re still very skeptical of what’s going to happen tomorrow. But I’m holding out hope that this has opened the door for more accountability. The fact that the attorney general did not even recommend manslaughter, or murder, that he recommended wanton endangerment—that is a dereliction of duty. And now, he’s under fire. And I’m hearing about calls now for the attorney general to step down. There’s been calls for the mayor to step down. And I think that depending on what happens with this case, those calls are going to intensify. This community is not going to heal until justice is done.

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