A billboard of Breonna Taylor in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, was vandalized this week. The billboard, part of a larger campaign demanding justice for Taylor's death, now features a large splatter of paint on her head.
On Tuesday, the billboard — which is near the area of Lexington Road and Spring Street, according to CBS Louisville affiliate WLKY-TV — featured red paint, splattered in the center of Taylor's forehead, resembling a bullet wound.
The billboard is among 26 that represent each year of Taylor's life and was erected in and around the city by Oprah Winfrey earlier this month. The image is the same one of Taylor used on the September cover of Winfrey's magazine, marking the first time in the publication's history that someone else other than Winfrey was featured on the cover.
The billboards all have the same clear call to action: "Demand that the police involved in killing Breonna Taylor be arrested and charged."
A quote from Winfrey accompanies the message: "If you turn a blind eye to racism, you become an accomplice to it."
One of the Breonna Taylor billboards in Louisville, Kentucky, was vandalized with red paint.
CBS affiliate WLKY-TV
The signs direct people to the social justice organization Until Freedom, which has taken up residence in Louisville to focus on getting justice for Taylor, O Magazine said in a statement on its website. The online statement also directs people to sign petitions that demand justice for Taylor, call Kentucky officials, donate to local bail funds and use #SayHerName on social media.
On March 13, police entered Taylor's home with a no-knock warrant. The officers fatally shot Taylor, a EMT worker, while looking for illegal drugs, which were never found. Only one of the three officers involved in Taylor's death has been fired, and none have been charged.
Taylor's family filed a lawsuit against the officers in May, accusing them of wrongful death, excessive force and gross negligence. In June, Mayor Greg Fischer signed "Breonna's Law," which bans the use of no-knock search warrants and it requires officers to wear body cameras when executing search warrants.
The father of Michael Brown Jr., who was also shot dead by police in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, has also called for justice in Taylor's case and traveled to Louisville recently to join a protest with Until Freedom.
On Monday night, former first lady Michelle Obama referenced Taylor's death while delivering an impassioned speech during the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
"Here at home, as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and a never-ending list of innocent people of color continue to be murdered. Stating the simple fact that a Black life matters is still met with derision from the nation's highest office," Obama said.
"Sadly, this is the America that's on display for the next generation," she added.
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