To my friends, constituents, and fellow Louisvillians:
As many in the past few weeks have done, I would like to quote Marin Luther King Jr to encourage us to, "Make a career of humanity. Commit yourself to the noble struggle for equal rights. You will make a better person of yourself, a greater nation of your country, and a finer world to live in." Many of us are hurting during these tumultuous times and we need one other. Now is not the time to abandon our brothers and sisters but for us to lend a helping hand.
During a once in a lifetime, global pandemic thousands across the world, nation, and our city have taken to the streets demanding equal rights, an end to police brutality, and justice for all. While the nation reacts to the death of George Floyd, we here in Louisville mourn the losses of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee.
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Breonna Taylor
The Louisville Metro Council is deeply saddened by the loss of Breonna Taylor, a first responder EMT in our community who was tragically killed during the serving of a Search Warrant on March 13th of this year. We understand that LMPD is filled with fantastic police officers that do a great job every day and decisions about life and death are made in split seconds as they perform their duties. However, this incident raises many questions that all need to be answered. We call on LMPD and the Mayor’s Office to be fully transparent with the citizens of Louisville Metro on all matters related to this horrible incident. We also request that The Kentucky Attorney General, The US Attorney for The Western District of Kentucky and The Louisville Office of The FBI conduct independent investigations of this shooting. Our prayers and condolences are extended to the family of Breonna Taylor.
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David McAtee
In the wake of the protests and unrest in the city another life was claimed. This time the victim was David McAtee, owner of YaYa BBQ and a man whom I called friend. By all accounts, this was not a riot or violent protest. Louisville Metro Police and National Guard personnel reportedly shot and killed McAtee while breaking up a "large" group early Monday outside Dino's Food Mart on 26th Street and Broadway in the Russell neighborhood, according to officials. Now former LMPD Chief, Steve Conrad, told reporters that the shooting happened about 12:15 a.m. in the parking lot of Dino's Food Mart. Apparently, in self-defense, Mr. McAtee appears to have shot into the air out of the door of his business as police pass. Officers returned fire, striking and killing Mr. McAtee. The officers involved did not have their body cams on therefore the exact details surrounding Mr. McAtee’s death are not yet clear, but what is unequivocal is that he should not be dead.
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Be The Change
In these times of hurting and uncertainty let us remember to show our humanity and compassion to one another. For those angry and upset with the system, I encourage you to exercise your 1st amendment right to protest but do it peacefully and above all go out and VOTE.
Louisville, District Six we are better together and we must be the change we wish to see. Thank you!
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Kroger released a statement Tuesday morning that read:
"At Kroger our Purpose is to Feed the Human Spirit, and we do that by taking care of the communities we serve. As America’s Grocer, we strive to demonstrate Our Values of Respect, Diversity, Inclusion, Honestly, Integrity and Safety in our everyday actions.
Out of an abundance of caution for our customers and associates, we chose to close our store at 28th and Broadway early yesterday, June 1st. We are saddened by the events of last night, but are thankful that none of our associates or customers were injured during the incident.
We love our customers in the Russel Neighborhood, and know they will continue to support our store team through this incident. We have already seen many neighbors come out this morning to assist with cleanup efforts that will aide us to reopen as quickly as possible.
We all have a responsibility to speak out against racism and injustice when and where we see it. But what’s more, we have a responsibility to more fully examine ourselves and to engage one another with greater compassion and deeper listening.
Our collective energy is necessary to achieve true equality and inclusion for our country. We will do our part to bring our community together, as an employer, grocery provider and community partner. We hope that the protests unfolding in Louisville and across the nation will peacefully shine a light on injustice.
We have plans to reopen this location tomorrow with limited hours of operation to serve our neighbors."
  For the latest updates and city resources click here
With all that is happening in our city at this time the District Six Office phone lines are extremely busy and our voicemail is constantly full. I encourage you to please reach out via email because your concerns are important to us and the residents of District Six are my priority. Phone lines are still open but to serve you best please try email. Thank you!
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