Kentucky鈥檚 attorney general acknowledged that he never recommended homicide charges against any of the police officers conducting the drug raid that led to death, and said he didn鈥檛 object to a public release of the grand jury鈥檚 deliberations.
Amid outrage over the jury鈥檚 decision last week to not charge any of the officers for Taylor鈥檚 fatal shooting, Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Monday that he also did not object to members of the panel speaking publicly about their experience.
鈥淲e have no concerns with grand jurors sharing their thoughts on our presentation because we are confident in the case we presented,鈥� Cameron said in a written statement.
Cameron also revealed late Monday that the only charge he recommended to the grand jury was that of wanton endangerment. He had previously declined to say what charges he recommended.
The grand jury last week charged Officer Brett Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing through Taylor鈥檚 apartment into an adjacent unit with people inside. No one in the adjacent unit was injured. Hankison, who was fired from the force for his actions during the raid, pleaded not guilty on Monday.
None of the officers was indicted in the killing of Taylor, who was shot five times after they knocked down her door to serve a narcotics warrant on March 13.
In a TV interview Tuesday evening, Cameron also indicated that he had recommended no charges against the other officers, Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove.
Speaking to WDRB-TV in Louisville, he remarked of the grand jury, 鈥淭hey鈥檙e an independent body. If they wanted to make an assessment about different charges, they could have done that. But our recommendation was that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in their acts and their conduct.鈥�
At a news conference last week, Cameron said Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in firing their weapons because Taylor鈥檚 boyfriend had fired at them first. Mattingly was struck by a bullet in the leg. There was no conclusive evidence that any of Hankison鈥檚 bullets hit Taylor, Cameron said.
鈥淔or that reason, the only charge recommended was wanton endangerment,鈥� he said.
He also said at the news conference that prosecutors 鈥渨alked them (the grand jury) through every homicide offense and also presented all of the information that was available to the grand jury.鈥�
A judge ordered the public release of the grand jury proceedings during Hankison鈥檚 arraignment Monday.
Cameron said the grand jury is meant to be a 鈥渟ecretive body,鈥� but 鈥渋t鈥檚 apparent that the public interest in this case isn鈥檛 going to allow that to happen.鈥�
The attorney general said a record of the proceedings would be released Wednesday, and that the public 鈥渨ill see that over the course of two-and-a-half days, our team presented a thorough and complete case to the grand jury.鈥�
An attorney for Taylor鈥檚 family reiterated the need to release the complete record.
鈥淪ince the grand jury decision was announced, we鈥檝e been saying that Daniel Cameron clearly failed to present a comprehensive case that supported justice for Breonna,鈥� attorney Ben Crump said in a news release Tuesday.
A member of the grand jury sued on Monday to have a record of the proceedings released and allow the panel鈥檚 members to talk publicly about their experiences. The grand juror鈥檚 attorney, Kevin Glogower, said Tuesday that Cameron has 鈥測et to answer what was actually presented as far as the charges and the individual they were directed to.鈥�
鈥淚 think that鈥檚 important to know and my client feels the same,鈥� Glogower said.
The grand juror鈥檚 lawsuit accused Cameron of 鈥渦sing the grand jury to deflect accountability and responsibility for (the indictment) decisions.鈥�
The public disclosure of grand jury minutes is rare. Most states have laws that would make it impossible. Other states, such as California, allow it under very specific circumstances, and some require a judge鈥檚 order.
Grand jury transcripts were released in the police shooting of Michael Brown in Missouri. But a judge refused to release the minutes of the grand jury that decided not to indict New York City officers in Eric Garner鈥檚 death in 2014, citing in part concerns over secrecy. In Georgia, 11th Circuit this year ruled against releasing grand jury records in the 1946 lynching of two Black couples.
A coroner鈥檚 report says Taylor was shot five times and died of multiple gunshot wounds. It says she was hit in the torso, her upper left arm and both legs. She tested negative for drugs and alcohol.
The night of the botched drug raid, the officers were carrying a 鈥渘o-knock鈥� warrant but Cameron said a witness testified that they knocked and announced their presence at Taylor鈥檚 door.
On Tuesday, The Courier Journal reported that the witness gave conflicting accounts. Aaron Sarpee told police in March nobody identified themselves, but in a follow-up interview in May he said he heard officers announce 鈥漷his is the cops,鈥� the newspaper said, citing documents it obtained.
This story has been edited to correct that the court is releasing the record of the grand jury deliberations, not the attorney general, who said he has no objections. It also has been edited to clarify that the judge鈥檚 order to release the information came during an officer鈥檚 arraignment hearing, not in response to the grand juror鈥檚 request.