LOUISVILLE, Ky. (NewsNation Now) — As unrest in the city continues following a Kentucky grand jury’s decision Wednesday on the killing of Breonna Taylor, some businesses in downtown Louisville are taking a hit.
“Business has been really, really bad. There is no foot traffic,” said business owner Amy Kim. “People call and say they are too scared to come down. They don’t even want to come shopping.”
The Kim family has owned the clothing store, Fashion Club, for 30 years. They say they’ve made almost no money for the last week. The city of Louisville has a curfew of 9 p.m. throughout the weekend.
“Why do we have to close? Why is it impacting small businesses?” said Kim. “They should still be able to protest and talk about what they need to but why close the entire downtown?”
Other businesses in the area have signs to discourage looters. One restaurant has “small family owned” spray-painted on their plywood. Another has a “Black owned” sign plastered on the window.
“We have been pretty protected. We are fortunate enough to be a black-owned business and the people have respected how we have supported the movement,” said Adrian Baker of Thomas Baker, State Farm Insurance agency.
Earlier Friday, the family and attorneys of Breonna Taylor appeared at her downtown Louisville memorial for the first time since a grand jury decided not to charge the officers involved in her death.
“I was reassured Wednesday of why I have no faith in the legal system,” said Bianca Austin, aunt of Breonna Taylor.
The family asked that Kentucky authorities release all body camera footage, police files and the transcripts of the grand jury.
Attorney general spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn provided a statement to NewsNation Friday:
“Attorney General Cameron understands that the family of Ms. Breonna Taylor is in an incredible amount of pain and anguish, and he also understands that the outcome of the Grand Jury proceedings was not what they had hoped. Regarding today’s statements at the press conference, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but prosecutors and Grand Jury members are bound by the facts and by the law. Attorney General Cameron is committed to doing everything he can to ensure the integrity of the prosecution before him and continue fulfilling his ethical obligations both as a prosecutor and as a partner in the ongoing federal investigation.”
The law usually requires that grand jury proceedings remain secret.
“The law does not allow for the disclosure of testimony that was presented before a grand jury. The reason for that is to protect individuals that were investigated and not indicted for a crime but also to protect witnesses,” said Attorney Bryan Lentz.
