Mother of police shooting victim calls for peace

LOUISVILLE, Ky: Looking to defuse tensions in Louisville over the fatal shooting of a black woman by police who broke down her door, the victim’s mother on Friday called on protesters to continue demanding justice but to do it in “the right way without hurting each other.”

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear read the statement from Breonna Taylor’s mother hours after gunshots erupted, wounding at least seven people, during protests late Thursday outside City Hall. One person was in critical condition, Louisville Metro Police said Friday, foreign media reported.

Mayor Greg Fischer said police officers fired no shots. Instead, they provided aid to the wounded, he said. TV video showed terrified protesters fleeing as gunfire erupted

With more rallies planned Friday, Taylor’s mother joined the chorus of calls for protests to remain peaceful. In her statement, Tamika Palmer said her daughter — an emergency medical technician — devoted her life to others and the “last thing she’d want right now is any more violence.”

“Please keep saying her name,” her statement said. “Please keep demanding justice and accountability, but let’s do it the right way without hurting each other. We can and we will make some real change here. Now is the time. Let’s make it happen, but safely.”Beshear, speaking on CNN, said the protest started peacefully but some people later “turned it into something that it should not have been.”