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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A historical marker remembering Breonna Taylor, David McAtee and Tyler Gerth was unveiled Wednesday at Jefferson Square Park in downtown Louisville.
The marker is labeled “2020 Racial Justice Protest.” The text on the marker reads in its entirety:
Built in 1978, Jefferson Square Park memorializes first responders killed in the line of duty. In 2020, it became a rallying place for those demanding justice for Breonna Taylor, a Black woman tragically killed by Louisville Metro Police serving a search warrant. Protesters called this space “Injustice Square Park” and held demonstrations that drew global attention.
Over 2,000 U.S. cities saw racial justice protests fueled by the police killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis and others. Locally, these demonstrations prompted police reform and policy changes to improve racial equity in the city. Many here also mourned Louisvillians David McAtee and photographer Tyler Gerth, killed in incidents related to the protests.
Mayor Greg Fischer was joined by family and friends of Taylor, McAtee and Gerth during a private ceremony.
“I remain deeply, deeply sorry for Breonna’s death and the deaths of YaYa and Tyler, and the incredible pain their families and our entire community experienced in the summer of 2020 and still to this day,” Fischer said in a news release. “My team and I agreed early on that the only way to honor that pain was to find the truth that leads to justice – and to take the necessary steps to ensure this never happens again.”
The Louisvillians are connected after all three died in 2020.
Taylor was shot six times by Louisville Metro Police on March 13, 2020. Police raided the 26-year-old’s apartment on Springfield Drive near Pleasure Ridge Park while serving a warrant in pursuit of money and drugs involving Jamarcus Glover, who was at the center of a narcotics probe.
When police knocked down the door of the apartment, Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot, hitting former LMPD officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. Police responded with 32 shots, and Taylor died at the scene.
McAtee and Gerth were both killed in June 2020 during racial justice protests.
After an LMPD officer fired pepper balls at McAtee’s niece while standing in the doorway of his restaurant, McAtee went outside and shot into the air, and the National Guard fired back, killing him. No soldiers were charged for McAtee’s death. A wrongful death lawsuit filed in the months following his death is still pending.
Gerth was shot and killed while attending and photographing a protest for racial justice in Jefferson Square Park. Gerth’s parents warned their son against attending the protests due to concerns of armed counter-protesters attending demonstrations, but their son said he felt the need to be there, as he had for weeks, to speak out against injustice and document history.
“We leaned on our shared history and dedication to equity and justice and because of all that,” Fischer said. “I believe that while the journey to racial equity will never be over, all segments of the community worked together and we came out of that crucible time as a stronger city.”
River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614, the union representing Metro Louisville police officers, released a statement late Wednesday in response to the marker being placed, saying it “shows a complete lack of reverence for our fallen officers and their families.”
You can read the statement in full below:
“RCFOP Lodge 614 was made aware earlier today that Mayor Fischer unveiled a historical marker titled “2020 Racial Justice Protest” at Jefferson Square Park. It is not lost on the members of the FOP that his administration chose to memorialize on the marker that rioters and protesters called the park “Injustice Square Park,” only feet from the solemn area that holds the monument honoring police officers killed in the line of duty while serving and protecting this community.
The placing of this marker in that spot by the Fischer administration shows a complete lack of reverence for our fallen officers and their families.
Gestures such as this are part of the reason so many officers feel disenfranchised by this administration and contribute to the extreme shortage of officers on the LMPD.
Undoubtedly this will reenergize conversations about moving our memorial from Jefferson Square Park to a location that truly values law enforcement officers and would show the proper respect to those officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while serving with agencies in Jefferson County.”
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