LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Boarded up windows, burned picnic tables and a broken statue are left in downtown Louisville after a violent protest that lasted late into Thursday night.
City crews spent much of Friday morning spray washing graffiti off buildings and sweeping up broken glass left by demonstrators around Louisville's Metro Hall. Evidence from the violence is visible along sidewalks and roadways with water bottles that were thrown at Louisville Metro Police and shrapnel from tear gas lobbed at protesters to disperse the crowd.
Metal bins are being removed from many trash cans near Jefferson Park because fires were started in the metal bins.
WDRB crews captured video late Thursday night of the damage done to the symbolic King Louie statue at Sixth and Jefferson Street. As protesters climbed on the base, they grabbed the stone and broke the hand off the statue. The hand was passed around the rowdy crowd before the protest turned violent.
Broken glass outside of Louisville Metro Corrections after protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville on May 28, 2020. Hundreds of people showed up for the mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later.
Pictured: a broken window near Louisville Metro Corrections after hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March staged a mostly peaceful protest in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020, that ended in violence. Seven people were shot, but not by LMPD officers.
Pictured: shattered glass on the sidewalk outside the Hall of Justice after protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020. Seven people were shot, but not by LMPD officers.
Pictured: A broken window in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: A broken window in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: A worker in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville, Ky., cleans up after protesters smashed windows. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: Graffiti scrawled on a picnic table written by protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March. Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020 for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later.
Pictured: A shattered window in the Hiko A Mon Japanese restaurant on Muhammad Ali Blvd. in downtown Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot and thousands of dollars in property damage.
Pictured: shattered windows at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 29, 2020. Hundreds of people gathered downtown on May 28 to protest the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid at her home in March. The mostly peaceful protest turned violent hours after it started, with some protesters opening fire. Seven people were hospitalized.
Two people outside shattered windows at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 29, 2020. Hundreds of people gathered downtown on May 28 to protest the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid at her home in March. The mostly peaceful protest turned violent hours after it started, with some protesters opening fire. Seven people were hospitalized.
A man uses a power washer to clean graffiti left behind after hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid in March staged a mostly peaceful protest in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020. The protest ended in violence and gunfire, with seven people injured, but police did not fire the shots.
IMAGES | Damage left behind by LMPD protesters in downtown Louisville
Broken glass outside of Louisville Metro Corrections after protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville on May 28, 2020. Hundreds of people showed up for the mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later.
Pictured: a broken window near Louisville Metro Corrections after hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March staged a mostly peaceful protest in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020, that ended in violence. Seven people were shot, but not by LMPD officers.
Pictured: shattered glass on the sidewalk outside the Hall of Justice after protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020. Seven people were shot, but not by LMPD officers.
WDRB/File.
A car with broken windows after protests in downtown Louisville on May 28, 2020. WDRB/File.
Protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March smashed windows in downtown Louisville on May 28, 2020. Seven people were shot during the protests, but not by police officers who responded to the scene.
Pictured: A broken window in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: A broken window in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: A worker in the Fifth Third Bank building in downtown Louisville, Ky., cleans up after protesters smashed windows. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered in downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot.
Pictured: Graffiti scrawled on a picnic table written by protesters upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March. Hundreds of people gathered in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020 for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later.
WDRB/File.
WDRB/File.
Pictured: A shattered window in the Hiko A Mon Japanese restaurant on Muhammad Ali Blvd. in downtown Louisville, Ky. Hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor during a drug raid in March gathered downtown on May 28, 2020, for a mostly peaceful protest that turned violent hours later, with seven people shot and thousands of dollars in property damage.
Pictured: shattered windows at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 29, 2020. Hundreds of people gathered downtown on May 28 to protest the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid at her home in March. The mostly peaceful protest turned violent hours after it started, with some protesters opening fire. Seven people were hospitalized.
Two people outside shattered windows at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 29, 2020. Hundreds of people gathered downtown on May 28 to protest the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid at her home in March. The mostly peaceful protest turned violent hours after it started, with some protesters opening fire. Seven people were hospitalized.
A man uses a power washer to clean graffiti left behind after hundreds of people upset about the death of Breonna Taylor in a drug raid in March staged a mostly peaceful protest in downtown Louisville, Ky., on May 28, 2020. The protest ended in violence and gunfire, with seven people injured, but police did not fire the shots.
The protest calling for justice for Breonna Taylor continued for nearly six hours. Taylor, a 26-year-old black emergency medical tech, was shot eight times on March 13 after narcotics detectives knocked down the front door. No drugs were found in the home.
The demonstration was mostly peaceful, as a large crowd made its way through the center of downtown. After being turned away from the Clark Memorial Bridge at Second and Main Streets, the crowd converged on Jefferson Park about 10 p.m. Thursday.
Many protesters taunted police that didn't take action until after the crowd tried to overturn an LMPD transport vehicle. Soon after, gunfire rang out sending the crowd scrambling, as officers dressed in riot gear moved in. Seven people were shot. Two had surgery at University of Louisville Hospital. One remains in critical condition. All are expected to survive.
Taylor's family continues to ask for calm and for protesters not to resort to violence. Attention on Taylor's death has intensified after her family sued the police department earlier this month. The case has attracted national headlines alongside the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery in a Georgia neighborhood in February.
Last week, prosecutors dropped an attempted murder charge against Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, for shooting an officer who entered the apartment. Also last week, Louisville's police chief, Steve Conrad, announced his retirement and Mayor Greg Fischer changed police warrant search policies.
Federal and state officials are reviewing the police department's internal investigation of the shooting, which was completed last week.
Related stories:
- LMPD: 7 people shot, 1 'critical' during protest in downtown Louisville demanding justice for Breonna Taylor
- Louisville mayor suspends controversial 'no-knock' warrants used by police
- 911 CALL | Someone 'kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend' Breonna Taylor's boyfriend shouts after LMPD raid
- Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad to retire in June in wake of controversial Breonna Taylor shooting
- Judge grants order to dismiss charges against Kenneth Walker, boyfriend of the late Breonna Taylor
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