Breonna Taylor Case: Ben Crump Slams Failure To Appoint Special Prosecutor
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump and his co-counsel are calling out the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council after they refused to appoint a special prosecutor in the Breonna Taylor case.
In a statement released to BET, Crump, as well as attorneys Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker who are representing Taylor’s family, say the decision has damaged the community’s trust in the Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council.
“Kentucky’s failure to not just deliver justice for Breonna Taylor but even to seek it deeply disturbed her family, the community, protesters across the nation, and even members of the grand jury,” the statement reads. “The actions of Daniel Cameron destroyed the integrity and public trust of the prosecutorial system throughout Kentucky. Today, the Prosecutor’s Advisory Council had the opportunity to restore this trust. Instead, they punted on the issue, inaccurately claiming that they lacked the ‘authority to fulfill the request that has been submitted.’”
It continues: “This is yet another gross miscarriage of justice in this case, and yet another example of a system which is biased towards law enforcement members and which shuns Black women. The level of cowardice that we have witnessed by the Louisville Police Department, the attorney general’s office, and now the council, is staggering.”
Crump’s statement also relays the importance of what Breonna Taylor’s case means in the fight against police brutality and racial injustice and why it should be investigated to the fullest extent in an unbiased manner.
“Breonna Taylor’s name has become a unifying symbol for people across the globe who are fighting against hate, injustice, and inequality. Her name will forever mean something, and is already changing the world for the better,” the statement concludes. “Can those who continue to deny her justice and refuse to hold her killers accountable say the same?”
Recently, the NAACP accused Cameron of "inappropriate bias" in favor of the police officers and calls for a new grand jury.
After midnight on March 13, officers Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove and John Mattingly executed a “no-knock” warrant at Taylor's apartment which she shared with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Believing they were intruders, Walker fired his weapon and gunfire from the officers ensued. Taylor, 26, was struck six times and died. Cameron claimed the warrant was not a no-knock and the police announced themselves prior to entering the apartment. This has been disputed by Walker and other neighbors who heard the incident.
On Sept. 23, the grand jury returned three counts of “wanton endangerment” in the first degree against Hankinson for firing into another apartment. A $15,000 cash bond was also attached to the charges. The other two officers, Mattingly and Cosgrove, were not charged and remain on the police force. Hankinson was fired in July.
BET has been covering every angle of the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Rayshard Brooks and other social justice cases and the subsequent aftermath and protests. For our continuing coverage, click here.
