Police Crackdown on Atlanta Breonna Taylor Protests
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Police Crackdown on Atlanta Breonna Taylor Protests

In the largest protest in months, Atlanta marchers opposed the news of no charges in Taylor’s death. Dozens arrested, police used tear gas, rubber bullets to disperse crowd.

By Nathan Posner September 25, 2020, 7:14 am Edit

A rising sophomore at Georgetown University, Nathan plans to major in government and minor in film and media studies as well as statistics, hoping to eventually get into a career creating digital content for campaigns or  covering them for the Atlanta Jewish Times and other media outlets.

  • A protester is arrested by Atlanta police officers. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    A protester is arrested by Atlanta police officers. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Protesters march in the early evening at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta over the charges related to the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, Ky. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Protesters march in the early evening at Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta over the charges related to the Breonna Taylor case in Louisville, Ky. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Protesters pass by the AmericasMart buildings, holding signs about Breonna Taylor, an EMT killed by police in a no-knock raid in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Protesters pass by the AmericasMart buildings, holding signs about Breonna Taylor, an EMT killed by police in a no-knock raid in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Protesters surround the Georgia State Capitol building as part of Black Lives Matter protests over the death and case of Breonna Taylor. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Protesters surround the Georgia State Capitol building as part of Black Lives Matter protests over the death and case of Breonna Taylor. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Protestors move barricades as they return to the Georgia Capitol building around 9:40 p.m. on the evening of Sept. 23. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Protestors move barricades as they return to the Georgia Capitol building around 9:40 p.m. on the evening of Sept. 23. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • A protestor confronts a Georgia State Patrol BearCat in front of the state capitol building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    A protestor confronts a Georgia State Patrol BearCat in front of the state capitol building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Tear gas spreads in front of the Georgia State Capitol building after a state patrol officer got caught on the door of a vehicle and a can fell off of him. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Tear gas spreads in front of the Georgia State Capitol building after a state patrol officer got caught on the door of a vehicle and a can fell off of him. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • A member of the “Black Revolutionaries,” wears a hat mocking the Make America Great Again hats of the Trump campaign that reads “Make America Great Again Arrest The Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor.”// Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    A member of the “Black Revolutionaries,” wears a hat mocking the Make America Great Again hats of the Trump campaign that reads “Make America Great Again Arrest The Cop Who Killed Breonna Taylor.”// Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Atlanta police cruisers are seen stationed in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building after protesters clashed with police.// Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Atlanta police cruisers are seen stationed in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building after protesters clashed with police.// Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • An Atlanta police officer watches protester on the sidewalk after assisting with an arrest in front of the Georgia State Capitol building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    An Atlanta police officer watches protester on the sidewalk after assisting with an arrest in front of the Georgia State Capitol building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • A protester holds an umbrella as state troopers, in a BearCat vehicle begin to push forward against protesters. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    A protester holds an umbrella as state troopers, in a BearCat vehicle begin to push forward against protesters. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • A state patrol officer is illuminated by the lights of a patrol car, with the Georgia State Capitol building seen in the background. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    A state patrol officer is illuminated by the lights of a patrol car, with the Georgia State Capitol building seen in the background. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
  • Atlanta police officers let their guard down after protests dispersed in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.
    Atlanta police officers let their guard down after protests dispersed in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.

In the early evening of Sept. 23, protesters began to gather in Woodruff Park in downtown Atlanta over the death of Breonna Taylor, the Louisville EMT shot by police at her apartment in March. The protesters were upset by the lack of charges brought against police related to her death. Only one officer was charged in the raid that caused Taylor’s death: wanton endangerment charges for firing into a neighboring apartment in the no-knock warrant raid.

The death of Taylor has sparked nationwide protests over the past few months, as the larger Black Lives Matter movement has grown since the death of George Floyd in late May. Protesters in Atlanta began to march around 7:30 p.m., initially with an unclear target.

Over the next two hours, protesters walked over a total of 5 miles in downtown Atlanta, repeatedly walking from Woodruff Park to different areas; from Centennial Olympic Park to the AmericasMart, to the state Capitol building. Protesters, arriving around 8:45 p.m. found Georgia National Guard units along with Georgia State Patrol officers surrounding the building.

Protesters pass by the AmericasMart buildings, holding signs about Breonna Taylor, an EMT killed by police in a no-knock raid in Louisville, Ky., earlier this year. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.

While the group of about 250 protesters approached the building, shaking fences and yelling at law enforcement on site, Georgia State Patrol officers began to use less-than- lethal rubber bullets on protesters. Soon after, protesters began to head back towards the Woodruff Park area. Eventually reaching Peachtree Street, protesters began to argue within themselves about where to head next, some arguing for going towards CNN and the police precinct within the building, the site of protests in May and June, while others argued for heading back to the capitol area. Within a few minutes, the group was moving once again, heading back towards the capitol area.

Once they arrived at the capitol for a second time, things were different than they had been only about 45 minutes earlier. BearCats, large militarized SWAT-type vehicles, moved onto the corner of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SE and Courtland Street, where they began to move protesters onto the sidewalk. In response, about two dozen protesters sat on the ground, creating a line of bodies in front of the vehicle.

Tear gas spreads in front of the Georgia State Capitol building after a state patrol officer got caught on the door of a vehicle and a can fell off of him. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.

As Georgia State Patrol officers began to exit the vehicle, one got snagged on the door, dropping his radio and a tear gas canister that went off. An officer proceeded to kick the cannister into the crowd, where protesters continued to sit.

From the state capitol side of the fence, an officer announced that it was an unlawful demonstration, and with Atlanta Police officers arriving on the scene, police began to forcefully push protesters onto the sidewalks. Those who refused, including those sitting on the ground in front of the BearCat, were arrested. More than a dozen were arrested, many forcefully thrown to the ground by police officers in the process. Throughout the evening, Georgia State Patrol used rubber bullets to try and disperse the crowd, in addition to tear gas which was blown back into the face of officers by a protester using a leaf blower.

Protesters surround the Georgia State Capitol building as part of Black Lives Matter protests over the death and case of Breonna Taylor. // Nathan Posner for the AJT.

This protest was the largest action in months, most comparable to actions in the wake of Rayshard Brooks’ death in June. While many of the protests early in the summer saw some limited violence, looting and property damage, protesters Wednesday night remained peaceful throughout the evening, with the most violent aspect being protesters shaking the fence that has been placed on the steps of the capitol. While police have responded to many  peaceful protests with dispersal orders and less-than- lethal weapons, from tear gas to the rubber bullets, at the capitol, Wednesday night represented the largest amount of arrests and forceful response from law enforcement in the city in months.

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