Breonna Taylor case: Attorney for grand juror who filed for transcripts, recordings to be released awaiting declaration of rights for his client

South Mississippi activists speak out on Breonna Taylor case decision
South Mississippi activists speak out on Breonna Taylor case decision(Photo source: CNN)
Published: Sep. 29, 2020 at 4:52 PM CDT
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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) – An attorney who represents a grand juror in the Breonna Taylor case said his client felt compelled to take action to make items leading to the decision public.

Attorney Kevin Glogower said a motion was filed Monday to release recording of the grand jury pertaining to the case.

Following the motion, Attorney General Daniel Cameron released a statement that read:

"The Grand Jury is meant to be a secretive body. It’s apparent that the public interest in this case isn’t going to allow that to happen. As the special prosecutor, our team has an ethical obligation not to release the recording from the Grand Jury proceedings, and we stand by our belief that such a release could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool. Despite these concerns, we will comply with the Judge’s order to release the recording on Wednesday. The release of the recording will also address the legal complaint filed by an anonymous grand juror.”

“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. Our prosecutors presented all of the evidence, even though the evidence supported that Sergeant 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.”

Attorney Kevin Glogower said a request was filed Monday to release recordings of the grand jury...
Attorney Kevin Glogower said a request was filed Monday to release recordings of the grand jury pertaining to the Breonna Taylor case.(WAVE 3 News)

“The release last night from the Attorney General’s office, they’re now acknowledging they only recommended the wanton endangerment charges toward detective (Brett) Hankison. What they’re not telling you in that release, which is still a question, is what was exactly presented to them," Glogower said.

Glogower’s said he is awaiting a declaration of rights for his client and other grand jurors. They want to make sure the grand jurors will have the right to speak freely without prosecution.

Glogower’s client “wants to make sure everything that happened in there becomes public knowledge,” he said.

Glogower said releasing the transcripts is an issue of accountability and public trust.

Taylor’s family, attorney Ben Crump and co-counsels Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker, who have also called for the transcript to be released, sent the following statement Tuesday afternoon:

“Since the grand jury decision was announced, we’ve been saying that Daniel Cameron clearly failed to present a comprehensive case that supported justice for Breonna. That conclusion is supported by the grand juror who came forward to say that the attorney general misrepresented the grand jury’s deliberations. We fully support the call to release the entire proceeding transcript as the only way to know what evidence was presented and how the grand jury instructions led to this outcome. In America, law-abiding citizens -- including Black citizens -- have the right to live peacefully in their homes, without police breaking down their doors in the middle of the night, and they have a right to protect themselves and their property from intruders. The police cannot claim their use of force was justified when they wrongly broke into Breonna’s apartment in the first place. We urge the Attorney General to release a COMPLETE and UNEDITED copy of the recording, along with any and all evidence in Bre’s case.”

The decision not the charge two of the officers involved in the fatal shooting March 13 shooting of Taylor was announced on Sept. 23.

Former LMPD Det. Brett Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment in connection to the shooting. Hankison was arraigned Monday and pleaded not guilty.

Read the full motion below:

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