Three former grand jurors who were involved in the Breonna Taylor case have filed a petition to the Kentucky Legislature seeking the impeachment of state Attorney General Daniel Cameron citing a host of allegations.
According to CNN, the former grand jurors are among the “concerned Kentucky citizens” demanding Cameron’s impeachment for alleged “breach of public trust and failure to comply with duties for misrepresenting to the nation the findings of the Grand Jury” as well as “abuse of office and breach of duties of professional responsibility and ethics.” Both allegations are related to Cameron’s failure to bring charges against the Louisville police officers who were involved in the fatal botched raid that left Taylor dead. The petition was filed on Friday, January 22.
“These are randomly selected citizens who were compelled to sit on a grand jury and were terribly misused by the most powerful law enforcement official in Kentucky,” Kevin Glogower, an attorney representing the petitioners, said in a statement.
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Taylor was fatally shot several times in her home while sleeping with her boyfriend in a botched narcotics raid by the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department on March 13. The three officers who fired the shots – Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove – were not charged in Taylor’s death by a grand jury on September 23.
Only Hankison, who was fired in the aftermath of the incident, was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment in the first degree for firing into the apartments of Taylor’s neighbors.
The decision to not bring any criminal charges against the officers involved in the shooting was criticized by Taylor’s family as well as activists and members of the public, with some of the grand jurors involved in the case calling out Cameron for not giving them the option to consider homicide charges. One of the grand jurors also accused Cameron of making misleading statements to the public about the grand jury proceedings following the announcement.
The petition also charges Cameron with incitement of insurrection for his alleged involvement in the January 6 U.S. Capitol riots that left five people dead. Former President Donald Trump is also facing the same impeachment charge. The petitioners are accusing Cameron of “financing, directing, and/or permitting radical robocalls that flooded the United States Capitol with rioters.”
The basis for the aforementioned charge is as a result of Cameron’s membership with the National Association of Republican Attorneys General (RAGA), CNN reported. The Rule of Law Defense Fund, a non-profit linked with RAGA, allegedly sent robocalls encouraging the pro-Trump protesters to head over to the Capitol. Cameron, however, told the Louisville Courier-Journal he had no knowledge of the robocalls.
The petitioners are also accusing Cameron of misspending taxpayer funds after he joined his Republican lawyer colleagues in filing a lawsuit to challenge the Pennsylvania election results. The suit was, however, thrown out.
The “concerned citizens” are therefore calling on the state legislature to disqualify Cameron from “holding office of honor, trust or profit in this Commonwealth, and that all costs be charged to him.”
Meanwhile, the call for his impeachment by the petitioners was welcomed by the lawyer for Taylor’s family, Ben Crump, CNN reported.
“We encourage the House committee to seriously review this petition and hold AG Cameron accountable for his role in misleading the public and the grand jurors, and denying justice for Breonna Taylor and her family,” Crump said.
