Bianca Austin was arrested on misdemeanor charges outside the Gene Snyder federal courthouse Monday.
Austin, the aunt of Breonna Taylor, joined a small protest at 6th St. and Broadway as the sentencing hearing for former Louisville Metro Police Department detective Brett Hankison took place, according to police statements and eyewitnesses.
Hankison was convicted last fall of violating Taylor’s civil rights during the fatal raid on her apartment in 2020. He shot blindly through a covered window of her apartment, and his bullets traveled into an occupied neighboring unit. Last week, the United States Department of Justice sought a single day sentence for Hankison, far lower than the 11-14 years recommended by the U.S. Probation Office.
According to a citation filed by LMPD in district court, Austin is charged with obstructing a highway and disorderly conduct in the second degree. Police said officers in marked vehicles responded to the intersection after 2 p.m. Monday with lights and sirens on.
Austin was in the intersection “clapping her hands blocking vehicles to pass through,” the complaint reads, adding that she approached officers and clapped and yelled in their faces. “The actions that the subject conducted today caused a public inconvenience and annoyance within the community.”
She was booked into the downtown jail Monday afternoon. She is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday morning.
Tara Bassett, a Louisville livestreamer who was prominent during the 2020 racial justice protests following Taylor’s killing, spoke in support of Austin during a Facebook Live broadcast outside the courthouse. She said she saw Austin take a bullhorn and step into the street after leaving the building. She characterized Austin as trying to “redirect” traffic.
Video shared by the Courier Journal depicts Austin shortly before her arrest.
Witnesses at the scene said four people, in total, were taken into custody, including a person who jumped on the hood of a Louisville Water Company truck that was driving down Broadway. Video of that encounter circulated online Monday afternoon.
Louisville Water Company spokesperson Kelley Dearing-Smith shared a statement on behalf of the agency, saying the employee in their company vehicle “did their best to safely leave the area.”
LMPD officials addressed the arrests late Monday in a statement, saying the department respects First Amendment rights.
“However, what we saw today in front of the courthouse in the street was not safe, acceptable or legal. Creating confrontation, kicking vehicles, or otherwise creating an unsafe environment will not be tolerated,” the statement said.
This story may be updated.
