Louisville declares state of emergency as city braces for Breonna Taylor decision

Police officers operate a check point and control vehicle access to downtown as the community awaits the findings of the grand jury in the case of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was shot dead in her apartment by police, in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. September 22, 2020. REUTERS/Bryan Woolston

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Reuters) - The mayor of Louisville, Kentucky, declared a state of emergency and closed much of downtown to vehicles on Tuesday ahead of an expected decision by a grand jury on whether to indict the police officers involved in killing Breonna Taylor, a Black medical worker, in a botched raid.

Although the timing of any decision remains unclear, courthouses, offices and restaurants were already boarded up on Tuesday in the mostly deserted blocks around the city's Jefferson Square Park, the site of regular demonstrations against police brutality that have spread across the nation.