LOUISVILLE in Kentucky was placed under a state of emergency on Tuesday over fears that protests would take place as prosecutors prepared to announce if Breonna Taylor’s killers will be charged. 

Ms Taylor, a black hospital emergency room technical, was killed in her home during a drug raid after being shot multiple times. 

Officers were unable to find any narcotics.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron is expected to announce any day whether his office will bring charges.

Ms Taylor’s family are worried about a possible cover-up and said that questions remain unanswered. 

Mayor Greg Fisher said that he declared the emergency measure “due to the potential for civil unrest” as protests have been held for over 100 consecutive days in Louisville. 

He has authorised police to close traffic on certain streets where protests have taken place, and barricades are being put up around the city centre to reduce access to the area. 

Mr Fisher added: “Our goal is ensuring space and opportunity for potential protesters to gather and express their First Amendment rights after the announcement.

“At the same time, we are preparing for any eventuality to keep everyone safe.”

Earlier, interim police chief Robert Schroeder told reporters that an announcement in the case was expected this week.

“In the community, we have all heard the rumours,” he said. “We all know something is coming. We don’t know what it is.”

Officer Brett Hankinson, one of the three involved in Ms Taylor’s death, was sacked from the force in June after investigators found that he had “blindly fired 10 rounds” into the apartment. 

The other two officers, Sgt Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, have been reassigned to administrative duties.

Sgt Mattingly wrote an email on Saturday, published by media outlets on Tuesday, to more than 1,000 colleagues encouraging them and criticising their city leaders and protesters.

The letter said: “Regardless of the outcome today or Wednesday, I know we did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night.

“It’s sad how the good guys are demonised, and the criminals are canonised. Your civil rights mean nothing, but the criminal has total autonomy.”

Earlier this month, Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden urged that charges be made against the officers who shot Ms Taylor and Jacob Blake, who was shot seven times in the back and left paralysed in August while entering his car containing his three children.