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Details of how the grand jury didn't indict any officers for Breonna Taylor's death are being made public after a juror broke ranks and attacked the Kentucky AG

Sep 29, 2020, 22:26 IST
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A demonstrator holds a sign with the image of Breonna Taylor, a black woman who was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers, during a protest against the death George Floyd in Minneapolis, in Denver, Colorado on June 3, 2020.JASON CONNOLLY/AFP via Getty Images
  • Daniel Cameron, Kentucky's attorney general, said he will release recordings of the grand jury proceedings into the death of Breonna Taylor, where no officers were charged over her death.
  • Grand juries usually act in secret. Cameron had previously refused to release the recordings from this one.
  • But he said on Monday that he would comply with a judge's order, granting a wish from Taylor's family and some lawmakers.
  • Cameron also said the release would satisfy a legal complaint from an anonymous juror.
  • The juror claimed Cameron misrepresented the proceedings and didn't give jurors the option of indicting two officers.
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Kentucky's attorney general committed to releasing a recording of the grand jury deliberations in the Breonna Taylor case, which he said will come out on Wednesday.

The decision by Daniel Cameron came after a juror said he had misrepresented what happened during the proceedings, which led to no police officers being indicted for Taylor's death.

One was indicted over stray bullets that entered a neighboring apartment, under the charge of wanton endangerment.

Cameron, a Republican, told The Hill of his intention to release the recording.

It was in response to a judge ordering that it be filed to a court as part of the case against the one officer who was charged.

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Taylor was shot eight times in her Louisville home on March 13 after police entered as part of a drugs bust.

Breonna Taylor.Associated Press

In a statement to CNN, Cameron said that his decision comply with the judge's order to release the grand jury details "will also address the legal complaint filed by an anonymous grand juror."

The juror filed a court motion calling for recordings and transcripts from the grand jury to be made public. The juror claimed that Cameron had misrepresented the deliberations and that Cameron didn't offer the jurors the option of indicting the other two officers.

The motion suggested that Cameron used jurors "as a shield to deflect accountability and responsibility."

The details of grand jury proceedings are not typically made public, and the juror's decision to publicly criticize the process is an unusual one.

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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron addresses the media following the return of a grand jury investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor on September 23.AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley

John Stewart, a former Kentucky Assistant Attorney General, told CNN that it was unprecedented.

"I've never heard of a grand juror asking the court to authorize the release of a transcript because they want to say something but don't want to be held in contempt or violate any rules," he said.

"It's clear that this person is saying, 'I want to speak the truth' but are concerned they'll violate the grand jury process ... it seems they're afraid the attorney general will come after them."

The juror said that the details should be shared so that "the truth may prevail."

Cameron had previously refused to release the recordings, and told The Hill that he still had concerns that doing so "could compromise the ongoing federal investigation and could have unintended consequences such as poisoning the jury pool."

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People gather in Louisville, Kentucky to await word on what charges would be announced against the police officers in the Breonna Taylor case on September 23.Darron Cummings/AP

But Cameron faced pressure from lawyers for Taylor's family, as well as political leaders like Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, The Washington Post noted.

The grand jury decision kicked off a new wave of nationwide protests, with large demonstrations in cities across the US.

Protests had already been continuing across the country after they erupted in May following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who was killed by police in Minneapolis police.

Taylor was a 26-year-old EMT.

She was shot by police in her Louisville home on March 13 while with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.

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The police used a "no-knock" warrant, meaning they were not required to identify themselves before entering her home.

People take a knee in protest of the grand jury decision in the Breonna Taylor case on September 23.Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
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