Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear reacted Friday to the downtown Louisville demonstrations held in response to the death of Breonna Taylor at the hands of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Taylor was allegedly killed by LMPD officers serving a “no-knock” warrant at her home on March 13. Beshear read a statement from Taylor’s mother at a press conference Friday.
“We will not stop until there is truth, justice and accountability,” the statement read in part.
Beshear said approximately 50 Kentucky State Police troopers will be deployed to Louisville to assist the LMPD over the weekend. He said no request has been made as of Friday to send the state National Guard to the protest sites.
“I can’t pretend to understand the level of frustration, fatigue that people must feel with hundreds of years of inequality,” Beshear said. “It tears at the fabric of who I am to see this happening.”
Beshear confirmed 283 cases of the coronavirus Friday, an increase of over 100 from the daily averages of the previous four days. The total number of COVID-19 cases in the commonwealth now sits at 9,464. The number of recovered Kentuckians has increased to 3,231.
The new cases come from counties including Logan, Daviess, Graves, Henderson, Calloway, Christian, Crittenden, Fulton and Marshall.
Beshear also announced nine virus-related deaths Friday. A total of 418 Kentuckians are dead as a result of the coronavirus.
The governor will move his daily COVID-19 press conferences to 4 p.m. EST/3 p.m. CST beginning Monday, June 1. More information concerning the coronavirus pandemic in Kentucky may be found here.
