LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A downtown business has filed a lawsuit against the city, saying it suffered thousands in damages during early protests over the Breonna Taylor case.
The owner of JJ Wig Shop, located on S. Fourth Street, claimed in the lawsuit that a "stand down" order from Mayor Greg Fischer stopped Louisville police officers from protecting her business from looters May 29.
"It took a lot of time and money to get where it was and it was destroyed in a matter of days," Bright said. "Absolutely no one came to help."
Bright said tens of thousands of dollars worth of merchandise was taken from the shop and the property was destroyed. In total, the shop is asking for $85,000 to be recovered by the city.
"What we would like to see is the city protect its businesses," attorney Chris Wiest said. "They have a statutory obligation to do so, and we'd like to see them do that going forward."
Fischer's administration responded to allegations that a stand down order was to blame for any looting, saying "there was never a stand down order." LMPD also released a statement saying there was no stand down order.
Bright said that while she understands protesters, looting local businesses should not be the way to get their point across. Wiest also said more downtown businesses are joining the lawsuit though none have been named at this time.
The city has 20 days to respond to the suit.
READ THE FULL LAWSUIT
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