The families of Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor went to Washington D.C. for the inauguration event.
Jacob Blake’s brother Justin told CNN they were invited when President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris learned of their presence in Washington.
“It’s clear to us they understand what we did to help them get in office. They will live up to the promises, if not we will be making a fool of ourselves and our life,” he said.
Jacob Blake told the news outlet: "It’s a sorority and fraternity that we did not choose.”
Referring to Taylor’s aunt, he said, “we don’t have to explain the pain that we’re in. We know the pain that we’re in.”
“It’s so many names to name. But we’re here to represent that,” Austin said.
Austin added that the visit to Washington was very different from what she could recall.
“We got a chance to visit yesterday and it was surreal. It’s more of a military base. It didn’t have that capitol feeling anymore,” she said.
Following the shooting of Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, and of Blake in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the families have been seeking substantial amendments in regard to police accountability.
“We demand abolishing immunity of police, from being able to not be charged for what they do. We demand that off the top,” Blake Sr. said.
Justin Blake believes that their cause means much more than just their own cases.
“It’s much bigger than our families. We want to make sure each African descendant living in this country are under the laws and liberties that exist,” Justin Blake stated.
Louisville Police Department Fires 2 More Officers in Breonna Taylor Case
The Louisville Police Department fired two more officers who took part in the shooting of Breonna Taylor.Detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes were dismissed on Jan. 5.
“Please be advised effective this date your employment with the Louisville Metro Police Department is terminated,” Chief of Police, Yvette Gentry wrote them, according to a copy of the termination letter to Cosgrove obtained by WFPL.
Gentry told him that “two of the sixteen rounds you fired were found in the body of Ms. Breonna Taylor,” adding that one of those shots killed her.
“The shots you fired went in three different directions, indicating you did not verify a threat or have target acquisition,” Gentry wrote. “In other words, the evidence shows that you fired wildly at unidentified subjects or targets located within an apartment.”
She wrote in conclusion: “despite your years of service, I cannot justify your conduct nor in good conscience recommend anything less than termination.”
The dramatic and sometimes conflicting accounts of the March 13 raid are key to a case that has fueled nationwide protests. When police came through the door using a battering ram, Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired once. He acknowledged that he may not have heard police identify themselves because of where he was in the apartment. He said that if he’d heard them, “it changes the whole situation because there’s nothing for us to be scared of.”
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