Kentucky AG didn’t recommend homicide charges
Daniel Cameron says he won’t block release of grand jury recordings.
DANIEL CAMERON Will release recordings
Kentucky’s top prosecutor says he never recommended grand jurors return homicide charges against the police officers who killed Breonna Taylor and says he won’t try to block the release of grand jury recordings.
In a statement Monday night, Attorney General Daniel Cameron acknowledged he only asked for wanton endangerment charges against the three Louisville Metro Police officers who fired a total of 32 bullets into Taylor’s apartment while serving a noknock warrant on March 13.
“The grand jury is meant to be a secretive body. It’s apparent that the public interest in this case isn’t going to allow that to happen,”
Cameron said in the statement obtained by the New York Daily News.
“As the special prosecutor, our team has an ethical obligation not to release the recording from the grand jury proceedings, and we stand by our belief that such a release could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool,” he said.
“Despite these concerns, we will comply with the Judge’s order to release the recording on Wednesday.”
“Once the public listens to the recording, they will see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the grand jury.
“Our prosecutors presented all of the evidence, even though the evidence supported that Sergeant Mattingly and Detective Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by (Taylor’s boyfriend) Kenneth Walker. For that reason, the only charge recommended was wanton endangerment.”
Taylor, a Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse, was hit six times by the police gunfire and died at the scene, Cameron said last week.
She was in bed at the time the officers used a battering ram to break down her door shortly after midnight.
Walker fired a single shot in self-defense because the couple had no idea who the officers were and thought the incident was a home invasion, lawyers for Taylor’s family said.
Cameron presented the case against the officers to a grand jury last week.
In a statement Monday night, Attorney General Daniel Cameron acknowledged he only asked for wanton endangerment charges against the three Louisville Metro Police officers who fired a total of 32 bullets into Taylor’s apartment while serving a noknock warrant on March 13.
“The grand jury is meant to be a secretive body. It’s apparent that the public interest in this case isn’t going to allow that to happen,”
Cameron said in the statement obtained by the New York Daily News.
“As the special prosecutor, our team has an ethical obligation not to release the recording from the grand jury proceedings, and we stand by our belief that such a release could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool,” he said.
“Despite these concerns, we will comply with the Judge’s order to release the recording on Wednesday.”
“Once the public listens to the recording, they will see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the grand jury.
“Our prosecutors presented all of the evidence, even though the evidence supported that Sergeant Mattingly and Detective Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by (Taylor’s boyfriend) Kenneth Walker. For that reason, the only charge recommended was wanton endangerment.”
Taylor, a Black emergency room technician and aspiring nurse, was hit six times by the police gunfire and died at the scene, Cameron said last week.
She was in bed at the time the officers used a battering ram to break down her door shortly after midnight.
Walker fired a single shot in self-defense because the couple had no idea who the officers were and thought the incident was a home invasion, lawyers for Taylor’s family said.
Cameron presented the case against the officers to a grand jury last week.