Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron Releases Hours Of Grand Jury Proceedings In The Case Of Breonna Taylor’s Murder - Here's What We Know So Far

The day has finally come. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has released those secret audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings in the case of Breonna Taylor’s murder. More inside…

What was done in the dark has now come to light.

After filing a court motion for an extension, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has finally released the audio recordings of the grand jury proceedings in the case of the murder of Breonna Taylor. The Republican attorney general - the protégé of Sen. Mitch McConnell - was trying to keep the recordings on the low, but now they're out! 

Here's what we know so far...

The release of the audio recordings comes after an unidentified juror filed a motion asking a judge to release the transcript and records related to the March 13th death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor. As you know, the black EMT worker was gunned down inside of her apartment after police officers (dressed in plain clothes) raided her home with a no-knock warrant.

The recordings are about 15 hours and they include interviews with witnesses, audio of 911 calls, and it also features the grand jury's sessions from Sept. 21st through Sept. 23rd. The recordings give a glimpse into the process, but they do not include prosecutors’ instructions.

The NY Times reports:

The audio files do not include statements or recommendations from prosecutors about which charges they think should be brought against the officers. Mr. Cameron has said that jurors were told that the two officers who shot Ms. Taylor were justified in their actions. Ultimately, the jurors indicted a former officer last week on three charges of endangering Ms. Taylor’s neighbors by firing into their home during a raid of her apartment in March, but did not charge either of the officers who shot her.

“As is customary in the recording of Grand Jury proceedings, juror deliberations and prosecutor recommendations and statements were not recorded, as they are not evidence,” Mr. Cameron said in a statement. He has insisted that the 12 jurors were given “all of the evidence” and were free to pursue additional charges.

LMPD detective Myles Cosgrove, the officer the FBI believes fired the shot that took Breonna’s life, described the scene as something out of a movie. And he seemed unsure of what exactly happened that night. Of course.

“I know that I have fired,” he said during an interview he gave police investigators last month that was played for the grand jury. “I just sensed that I’ve fired.”

But, he added, “It’s like a surreal thing. If you told me I didn’t do something at that time, I’d believe you. If you told me I did do something, I’d probably believe you, too.”

As soon as he got to the doorway, Detective Cosgrove said, he was “overwhelmed with bright flashes and darkness. And what I describe as a movie reel that’s doing that ticking where you see white and black, white and black.”

Detective Cosgrove said that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg during the raid, fell to the ground and that he had to step over his wounded colleague.

“I know John, my friend that I’ve known for 15 years, has been shot in this confined space,” Detective Cosgrove said. “And I know this person is down and I sense that there’s still these gunshots happening due to those bright lights. I can’t even explain what it is.”

Detective Cosgrove said he also saw a shadow of a person, a “larger than normal human shadow,” when they raided the apartment and he saw flashing lights.

Jurors questioned some of the evidence that was presented to them.

At times, the jurors’ questions suggested they were skeptical of what they were being shown: one asked about the time stamps on the video. Another asked why they had not seen the room where the gun was found; the investigator said that would be shown in a different video.

The biggest controversy surrounding the case is whether or not the officers actually announced themselves when they arrived at Breonna's front door.

Mattingly said the warrant was signed as a no-knock, but they preferred not to go that route. In his interview, he said they knocked and announced six to seven times for more than a few seconds each time

— Amber Smith (@ambersmithtv) October 2, 2020

According to the recordings, a police lieutenant testified one neighbor claims they did NOT hear the police identify themselves and that's in line with what Breonna's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said. However, another cop testified one neighbor said they did hear the cops announce themselves before breaking into her apartment. And that's the story the police has been going with.

There were 12 neighbors in total who said they did NOT hear the police identify themselves before breaking. Also, we'd like to point out the neighbor who the police lieutenant said didn't hear the cops announce themselves did NOT testify and its unclear why.

We're updating information heard by the grand jury in the #BreonnaTaylor shooting here: https://t.co/Mb1F5iT7Fe via @WDRBNews

Some of the excerpts of the recording released late Friday morning pic.twitter.com/caX9KZc0fH

— Marcus Green (@MarcusGreenWDRB) October 2, 2020

 

Detective Cosgrove, one of the two officers who shot Ms. Taylor, said that a neighbor came outside and got into an argument with Brett Hankison, a former officer who fired his weapon during the raid and whom the grand jury indicted for endangering Ms. Taylor’s neighbors.

The unidentified neighbor yelled at them, “something about leave her alone, there was some girl there,” Detective Cosgrove said in an interview with police investigators last month that was played for the grand jury.

He said officers were outside knocking for 90 seconds, and that the volume escalated from “gentle knocking” to “forceful pounding” to pounding while yelling “police.”

Detective Nobles, who held the battering ram that broke through Ms. Taylor’s door, said he stood at the door, knocking and announcing himself as police for one or two minutes before he used the battering ram to force his way into Ms. Taylor’s apartment. His interview was also played for grand jurors. He said it took three knocks with the battering ram to break down the door completely.

When he entered, Mr. Nobles said it was “pitch black,” and that Sgt. John Mattingly, one of the officers who shot Ms. Taylor, was quickly shot in the leg after the team entered the building.

In previous interviews with The Times, 11 of 12 of Ms. Taylor’s neighbors said they never heard the police identify themselves. One neighbor said he heard the group say “Police,” just once.

The officer who was indicted on wanton endangerment charges - Brett Hankison – apparently thought someone in the apartment had a semiautomatic weapon, although there was no evidence of that.

The calls suggest that Mr. Hankison, who was fired after the shooting for violating department procedure, believed that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly had been wounded by someone with an “A.R.” who was “barricaded” inside the apartment.

Mr. Hankison’s reference to an “A.R.” on the call appears to be a reference to either an assault rile or the AR-15, a type of a military-style semiautomatic rifle.

In fact, investigators later said, Sergeant Mattingly was struck by a 9-millimeter round fired by Kenneth Walker, Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, who has said he mistook the officers for intruders.

No one has been charged for the murder of Breonna Taylor.

This is what we know so far. There's 15 whole hours of recordings, so details about the case will be trickling in. We'll finally know what Daniel Cameron presented and the public can make a sound decision once everything is laid out. Stay tuned...

Photo: AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley

source: theybf