Breonna Taylor’s family slams Kentucky AG, demands he release grand jury transcripts
Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal, reacts on ‘America’s News HQ.’
The attorney representing an anonymous grand juror in the Breonna Taylor case said Tuesday his client believes “certain questions were left unanswered” after one of three Louisville officers involved in the fatal police raid was indicted, adding that “accountability and a sense of public trust” drove a motion to force Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to release a recording of the proceedings.
Kevin Glogower, the attorney representing the anonymous juror, held a press conference alongside his legal team Tuesday regarding his client’s request to also obtain a declaration of rights from the court system to know whether grand jurors have the right to speak freely about their experiences in the proceedings “without fear of prosecution, persecution, condemnation, torment, etc.”
KENTUCKY AG TO RELEASE GRAND JURY DELIBERATIONS IN BREONNA TAYLOR CASE
"My client is 'aggrieved,' to use that term, that what was presented is not being publicly disclosed," Glogower said. “Our client felt compelled to take action, but before our client could discuss things freely, they needed to know what the rights and duties as deemed by the court. This is not a situation or a case where anyone should be acting without an abundance of caution and exploring all their options abundantly before they begin speaking freely with the press.”
“My client wants to make sure the truth gets out. My client wants to make sure anything that happened in there becomes something of public knowledge,” he added.
Brett Hankison (SHELBY COUNTY DETENTION CENTER)
Protests erupted in Louisville after Brett Hankison, who was fired from Louisville Metro Police in June, was indicted last week on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for firing rounds into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, endangering the lives of three residents who were home at the time. He was not charged in connection to Taylor's death.
GRAND JUROR IN BREONNA TAYLOR CASE FILES LAWSUIT TO RELEASE CASE TRANSCRIPT SO 'JUSTICE CAN PREVAIL'
No charges were announced against the two other officers involved in the raid – Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Johnathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg and underwent surgery after the police operation. FBI ballistics determined Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.
In response to the motion filed Monday, Jefferson Circuit Judge Ann Bailey Smith ordered "the recording of the grand jury proceedings shall be filed in the court file by noon of Wednesday this week," the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.
Cameron said in a statement that he would comply with the court order to release the recording despite standing by his belief that “such a release could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool.”
This undated photo provided by Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar shows Breonna Taylor in Louisville, Ky. A grand juror has filed a suit asking the court to release records and transcripts of the proceedings. (Courtesy of Taylor Family attorney Sam Aguiar via AP, File)
“We have no concerns with grand jurors sharing their thoughts on our presentation because we are confident in the case we presented. 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,” the attorney general said in a statement released Monday. “Our prosecutors presented all of the evidence, even though the evidence supported that Sgt. Mattingly and Detective Cosgrove were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker. For that reason, the only charge recommended was wanton endangerment.”
Glogower declined to disclose what his client said about the proceedings, citing confidentiality, but said there was a discrepancy between what Cameron said at a press conference Wednesday after the reading of the indictment, which “laid a lot of responsibility at the grand jurors’ feet,” and the latest statement released by the state attorney general's office Monday night.
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“What I can tell you is that the release that was put out last night by the attorney general’s office, what they’re now acknowledging, is that they only recommended the wanton endangerment charges toward Detective Hankison,” he said. “What they’re not telling you in that release, which is still in question, is what if anything was actually presented to them [the grand jurors], if anything what were those charges, who were the defendants, or potential defendants, and what was the recommendation if any.”
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