The Kentucky grand jury audio recordings from closed-door proceedings have finally emerged and paint two very different accounts of what happened when Breonna Taylor had her life taken from her at the hands of law enforcement.
Breonna Taylor’s Grand Jury Audio Emerges
According to reports, there’s conflicting testimony over the seconds before police fatally shot Taylor in her own apartment in March. Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker – in the recordings – is heard saying they had no idea who was at the door and said the cops didn’t announce themselves before breaking into the apartment.
The officers involved in the raid, though, insisted in interviews with investigators that they had loudly identified themselves as the police before they burst through the door. It was only after one officer was shot by Mr. Walker, they said, that they opened fire at the couple, killing Ms. Taylor. The dueling accounts of a chaotic and tragic night are captured in 15 hours of recordings from the grand jury’s examination of the fatal raid, which was part of a drug investigation targeting a man who was arrested elsewhere. For the first time, some of those directly involved in the police shooting — including neighbors, officers and Mr. Walker — are heard describing the fateful night. (MSN)
Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Tapes
Earlier in the week, Attorney General Daniel Cameron addressed being pressured to release the recordings publicly.
Cameron added that he was concerned that the release planned for Wednesday could hamper the ongoing federal investigation and lead to a “poisoning of the jury pool.” “The grand jury is meant to be a secretive body,” Cameron said in a statement released Monday night. “It’s apparent that the public interest in this case isn’t going to allow that to happen.” The move follows the filing of a motion in Louisville, Kentucky, by a grand jury member to have the sealed transcripts and records released “so that the truth may prevail.” (NBC News)
Breonna Taylor’s Family Makes Demands
After the grand jury’s decision, Taylor’s family demanded grand jury details be made public. The family’s statement came during a news conference in Jefferson Square Park.
Speaker after speaker pilloried that outcome, repeatedly criticizing Cameron, the police force and the country’s justice system, which Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, described as fundamentally not set up to protect people of color in America. “It’s clear that that is the way they will always see us,” Palmer said in a statement that was read aloud at the news conference by her sister, Bianca Austin. “I was reassured Wednesday of why I had no faith in the legal system, in the police, in the law … The system as a whole has failed her.” (Herald-Dispatch)
Louisville Police Officers Shot
According to reports, two – if not more – Louisville cops suffered gunshots hours after the grand jury decision. However, it was not certain if the shooting was a result of unrest from locals and peaceful protestors.
The officers were shot around 8:30 p.m. near Broadway and Brook Street as residents took to the city’s streets to protest a grand jury’s decision to not indict police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor, the Courier-Journal Reported. Federal authorities confirmed the shooting and have arrived to aid in the investigation. “The FBI Louisville SWAT team has responded to an LMPD officer being shot and will continue to assist in the investigation,” the FBI’s Louisville branch tweeted. (NY Post)
