Louisville officers walk out on @louisvillemayor Greg Fischer, claim lack of support amid Breonna Taylor protests courier-journal.com/story/news/202… via @courierjournal
A video obtained by The Courier Journal shows Fischer standing in the middle of a large room as streams of officers and detectives file out wordlessly. FOP President Ryan Nichols, who was not present, said the move was an unplanned reaction to Fischer's appearance.
"They feel completely unsupported and disrespected by this administration," Nichols said. "They feel whatever he was going to say would have been nothing more than lip service, and he does not care about them at all."
Police have deployed pepper bullets and tear gas to disperse demonstrations, which they've said have included items of concern and potential weapons against officers such as bricks, fireworks, leaf blowers, Molotov cocktails, shields and jars.
Maj. David Allen, who oversees LMPD's Administrative Services Division, said that jars have been thrown with "gasoline in them, urine (and) a mixture with vomit in it." On Wednesday, interim Chief Robert Schroeder said a SWAT vehicle had taken fire during overnight protests.
Many officers, Nichols said, don't feel Fischer's team has been supporting law enforcement amid protests that have been "directed and focused against police."
"We're deep into multiple days of rioting and violence... and they're working in treacherous conditions," Nichols said.
"We're deep into multiple days of rioting and violence... and they're working in treacherous conditions," Nichols said.
"And this is the first opportunity that the leader of our city and this police department has given them to address them?"
A member of LMPD who was at the roll call said people walked away from the mayor when he came over to talk, adding that they "didn't want to be patronized."
A member of LMPD who was at the roll call said people walked away from the mayor when he came over to talk, adding that they "didn't want to be patronized."
