LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Morning protests near Jefferson Square have turned violent several times this week with people blocking roadways, threatening drivers and confronting police.
Police reports show 17 people were arrested following confrontations on Wednesday morning. All were from Louisville except for one suspect who is from Borden, Indiana. LMPD released the names of 15 people facing charges.
- Janiesa Williams
- Marissa Whittenberg
- Paula Sharpe
- Christopher Wells
- Victor Connelly
- Amira Bryant
- Maria Magre
- Phillip Thomas
- Andrea Anderson
- Theus Dillon
- Ebony Wallace
- Gregory Brewton
- Kathryn Wuebker
- Emmanuel Mitchell
- Steven Lopez
According to an arrest report, Christopher Wells is charged with disorderly conduct and inciting a riot. Police say he was "manning ... the unauthorized barricades along with several others numbering more than five." Police say Wells' actions, "incited the other protesters to become violent. At least five others were charged in connection with violence that occurred."
Investigators said Gregory Brewton punched an officer in the head. He is charged with wanton endangerment 1st degree of a police officer, riot, failure to disperse and reckless driving. The arrest report said he was seen driving recklessly "at a high rate of speed directly at a line of at least 30 officers, showing an extreme indifference to and threatening their lives." Police say Brewton accelerated towards officers several times and then slammed on the brakes, "screeching the tires to come to a stop just a few feet from the line of officers." The report said he did "donuts" in the car on West Jefferson Street near officers and the crowd. Police also say the car Brewton was driving had marijuana inside and duct tape over the license plate.
Another protester is charged with blocking traffic on the ramp from Interstate 64 to Roy Wilkins Boulevard. Emmanuel Mitchell is charged with riot, fleeing or evading police and burglary. According to an arrest report, Mitchell used building materials and other construction equipment to form a barricade and block traffic. The he reportedly "removed chains from a tractor trailer and used it to whip the sides of vehicles causing people to panic with no where to flee," police said.
Police also arrested two people in an attack on a woman trying to drive through blocked streets Wednesday morning.
The female driver hit a pedestrian as she tried to get away from a group of people she said attacked her car. She has not been charged.
LMPD said in an arrest report for two people charged in the attack that the woman came forward. "The Jefferson County Attorneys Office is reviewing the case to determined if charges, if any, will be filed."
Police said they arrested Darius Anderson and Brioanna Richards. Police say Anderson had pointed a gun at the driver, then passed the gun off to Richards who hid the gun in a vehicle to "attempt to conceal evidence of the crime." Video of the attack and of the driver hitting the protester was widely circulated on social media. LMPD released a video from the city's Real Time Crime that showed a gun being pulled on the woman driving the car.
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