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Breonna Taylor’s family is “declaring and demanding” Friday that Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron release the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings that led to the indictment of only one of the three officers involved in the police operation that resulted in her death.
Attorney Ben Crump made the announcement in Louisville while speaking alongside Taylor’s family in their first news conference since the decision was revealed Wednesday.
“Tamika Palmer and her entire family... is heartbroken, devastated, and outraged, confused and bewildered just like all of us as to what the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron [presented] to the grand jury,” Crump said. “Did he present any evidence on Breonna Taylor’s behalf or did he make a unilateral decision to put his thumb on the scales of justice to help try to exonerate and justify the killing of Breonna Taylor by these police officers and in doing so, make sure that Breonna Taylor’s family never got their day in court, never got their chance for due process and in essence, denied them justice?
Breonna Taylor family attorney Ben Crump, center speaks during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
“That is why we are standing here today united in solidarity, declaring and demanding that he release the transcripts of the grand jury proceedings so we can know if there was anybody giving a voice to Breonna Taylor,” he added.
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Crump also urged people marching in support of Taylor to vote in the upcoming presidential election.
“There seems to be two justice systems in America – one for Black America and one for White America. And this has been emphasized by this grand jury proceeding into the killing of Breonna Taylor," he continued.
Officer Brett Hankison, who was fired in June, was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree, a Jefferson County grand jury decided Wednesday.
Brett Hankison (SHELBY COUNTY DETENTION CENTER)
No charges were announced against the two other officers involved in the police operation that resulted in Taylor's death -- Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg and underwent surgery.
Crump said Jacob Blake Sr., the father of Jacob Blake -- a black Wisconsin man who was left severely injured following an encounter with police -- traveled from Kenosha to be with Taylor's family on Friday.
At one point during the press conference, Crump led a chant of "release the transcripts!"
“If you did everything that you could do on Breonna’s behalf, you shouldn’t have any problem whatsoever Daniel Cameron to releasing the transcripts so that we can see you fought for all of Kentucky’s citizens, especially Tamika Palmer’s daughter, Breonna Taylor," he said.
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Elizabeth Kuhn, Cameron's communications director, told Fox News Friday that he "understands that the family of Ms. Breonna Taylor is in an incredible amount of pain and anguish, and he also understands that the outcome of the Grand Jury proceedings was not what they had hoped.
"Regarding today’s statements at the press conference, everyone is entitled to their opinion, but prosecutors and Grand Jury members are bound by the facts and by the law," she added. "Attorney General Cameron is committed to doing everything he can to ensure the integrity of the prosecution before him and continue fulfilling his ethical obligations both as a prosecutor and as a partner in the ongoing federal investigation."
Fox News' Danielle Wallace, Michael Ruiz contributed to this report.
