Breonna Taylor grand jury transcripts to be released
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron will comply with a judge’s order to release the records after a juror sued for the transcripts to be made public.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron will comply with a judge’s order to release the transcripts from the grand jury’s proceedings that led to the recent Breonna Taylor case decision. The news arrives a day after one grand juror sued to have the records released to the public and accused Cameron of using the the jury as a “shield.”
“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,” Cameron said in a statement. The AG also said the only charge he had recommended to the jury was wanton endangerment, which they indicted ex-officer Brett Hankison for on three counts in the first-degree. On Monday (Sept. 28), Hankison pleaded not guilty to those charges.
Until now, Cameron had previously declined to offer any details about the jury’s proceedings. When he announced their decision last Wednesday (Sept. 23), he said that his investigation found that officers Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, neither of which were indicted, were “justified” in their use of force. Cosgrove’s shots were the ones that ultimately killed Taylor.
“Our prosecutors presented all of the evidence, even though the evidence supported that Sgt. Mattingly and Det. Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker,” Cameron said in the statement. “For that reason, the only charge recommended was wanton endangerment.”
The unidentified grand juror who sued to have the transcripts released also asked a judge to allow the jurors to speak freely about the case. According to their lawyer, the juror is hoping the “truth may prevail” with the release of the transcripts.
“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,” attorney Kevin Glogower said.
After announcing the transcripts would be released on Wednesday, Cameron said he has “no concerns with grand jurors sharing their thoughts on our presentation because we are confident in the case we presented.”