AG Cameron to release Breonna Taylor grand jury records after juror complains he misled
An unidentified grand juror in the Breonna Taylor case is demanding the release of the grand jury’s transcript and related recordings so “the truth may prevail.”
In a motion filed late Monday afternoon, the juror also asks a judge to allow fellow jurors to give up their confidential status if they wish and speak freely about the controversial case that saw one of three Louisville police officers who fired their weapons at Taylor’s apartment indicted on felony charges.
“The full story and absolute truth of how this matter was handled from beginning to end is now an issue of great public interest and has become a large part of the discussion of public trust throughout the country,” Kevin Glogower, the attorney for the juror, wrote in the filing that comes just five days after the indictment.
The motion also accuses Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron of using the grand jurors “as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility for those decisions” and says that has led to “more seeds of doubt in the process.”
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It specifically requests the court find grand jurors are permitted to discuss what didn’t take place in the grand jury proceedings — including “any potential charges and defendants presented or not presented.”
Former LMPD Detective Brett Hankison, already fired by the department this summer, was indicted by the grand jury on wanton endangerment charges for shooting into an occupied apartment next to Taylor’s — charges that are not directly related to the death of the unarmed 26-year-old Black woman.
He was arraigned Monday in Jefferson Circuit Court, pleading not guilty. He is free on $15,000 bond.
During the arraignment, Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann Bailey Smith also ordered “the recording of the grand jury proceedings shall be filed in the court file by noon of Wednesday this week,” she said.
In a statement late Monday, Cameron said he would comply with the judge’s orders, despite misgivings.
“The grand jury is meant to be a secretive body,” he said. “It’s apparent that the public interest in this case isn’t going to allow that to happen.”
Two other officers who fired the bullets Cameron said struck and killed Taylor — Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove — were not charged. Cameron said the grand jury agreed they fired in self-defense after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired at them.
SOURCE ⇒ COURIERJOURNAL
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