Incident Details
- Date of Incident
- May 29, 2020
- Location
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Targets
- WAVE
- Equipment Broken
- Actor
- Private individual
Equipment Damage
Kentucky State Troopers and protesters face off in Louisville on May 29, 2020.
A news vehicle belonging to local broadcast station WAVE3 News was vandalized on May 29, 2020, during protests in Louisville, Kentucky, according to the station.
The Associated Press reported that protests in Louisville have centered around the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, both of whom were Black. Taylor was shot eight times in her Louisville home in mid-March by narcotics police who broke down her door. Floyd died on May 25, after a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, knelt on his neck for eight minutes during an arrest. Video of Floyd’s death has sparked protests across the country.
WAVE 3 reported that amid the protests on May 29, one of the station’s news vehicles was found vandalized in the downtown area as the crowd intensified.
The station did not immediately respond to requests for additional information or comment.
During the protests that night, two WAVE 3 journalists, a reporter and cameraman, were also deliberately shot at with pepper balls by a Louisville Metro Police Department officer.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker documents journalists being assaulted, arrested, struck by crowd-control ammunition or tear gas or who had their equipment damaged in the course of reporting. Find all incidents related to Black Lives Matter and anti-police brutality protests here.
The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker catalogues press freedom violations in the United States. Email tips to [email protected].