Protester hit by truck that drove through Breonna Taylor protest in LA

A protester was struck by a pickup truck late Thursday while participating in Los Angeles demonstrations calling for racial justice after it was announced that no charges would be filed over the death of Breonna Taylor, local police confirmed early Friday. 

The Los Angeles Police Department shared a statement on Twitter saying that as more than 300 protesters marched along Hollywood’s Sunset Boulevard shortly after 9 p.m. on Thursday, a blue truck “maneuvered through the crowd and became involved in an altercation.”

According to police, the driver struck a demonstrator while attempting to leave the situation. Police added in the statement that the person was taken to the hospital with “minor injuries.” 

The LAPD is are aware of an incident in Hollywood involving several vehicles and a large group of protestors. Here is the information we can verify at this time. pic.twitter.com/ttqpnziVo8

— LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) September 25, 2020

The statement also referenced a separate incident at the protests that happened “moments later” in which a white Prius “became involved in an altercation with individuals in the crowd.” 

“A black pickup truck leading the protests accelerated and pinned that white Prius in, forcing it to come to a stop,” the statement said. “The driver of the Prius attempted to flee the area and reversed into a green Mustang behind it. That vehicle was also participating in the protest.”

The statement added that the drivers of both the black pickup truck and the Mustang unsuccessfully tried to apprehend the driver of the Prius before he escaped from the scene. 

Los Angeles police added that the suspects in both incidents have been identified and that “the investigation is continuing.” 

The Hollywood protest was just one of many across the country in the aftermath of a Louisville, Ky., grand jury decision on Wednesday, announcing it would not charge three officers involved in the March police raid that resulted in the killing of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman. 

Demonstrators in Louisville clashed with counterprotesters Thursday night, with local police arresting two dozen people early Friday morning for alleged damages to business and government property. This followed more than a hundred arrests after demonstrations on Wednesday.