Attorney General Daniel Cameron, R-Kentucky, sought to explain his handling of the Breonna Taylor case to Republicans in West Kentucky.
Speaking to a group of Republicans in Calvert City, Kentucky, the night before Fancy Farm, Cameron talked about some of the challenges of his first year in office – which included taking on the investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor.
“When I took that oath of office in December of 2019, I talked about there wouldn’t always be easy answers that come out of this office – little did I know that come 2020 that would be tested,” Cameron said. “We obviously had COVID-19 which was incredibly challenging, but we also had an incredibly challenging investigation out of Louisville with the passing of Ms. Breonna Taylor.”
“What I’ve said on that front, and I’ve said this from the very beginning, is that what happened to her unequivocally was a tragedy,” Cameron continued. “In fact, I haven’t gone to anywhere in our 120 Counties and not had folks say that was a tragedy. But the responsibility that we had in the AG’s Office, and I hope you can respect that, is that we had to marry the facts with the law.”
Cameron said he’s “proud of the work” investigators and prosecutors did and in putting forward their recommendation on charges for one of the LMPD officers involved in the shooting.
“It was a decision that not everyone agreed with, but I hope you can respect we undertook our due diligence in reaching that conclusion.”
A Grand Jury charged three counts of wanton endangerment against Brett Hankison, one of the three LMPD officers who fired dozens of rounds the night of the raid. No charges were filed against officers for the killing of Taylor. The charging or lack-thereof sparked a second round of rioting in Louisville.
Hankison’s trial is set for February 2022.