Three Breonna Taylor grand jurors file petition to impeach Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron claiming he 'misrepresented their findings' in the case and lied about allowing them to consider homicide charges against the Louisville cops

  • Three Kentucky grand jurors on Friday filed a petition seeking to impeach state Attorney General Daniel Cameron
  • Cameron is accused of breaching public trust and misrepresenting the jury's findings in the state's investigation of the Breonna Taylor shooting  
  • The AG came under fire in September after he announced a grand jury ruling that did not charge any of the Louisville officers in Taylor's death
  • He said the jury found the cops had acted in self-defense and claimed the panel had been presented with homicide charges
  • Lawyer for the jurors on Friday claimed they 'were terribly misused by the most powerful law enforcement official in Kentucky'
  • The petition which was also signed by a handful of Kentuckians, was submitted to the overwhelmingly Republican Kentucky House

Three Kentucky grand jurors in the Breonna Taylor case have called for state Attorney General Daniel Cameron to be impeached, claiming he 'misrepresented their findings' in the months-long investigation into her fatal shooting. 

The three jurors, who were not named, filed a petition with the state House of Representatives on Friday renewing earlier allegations that challenged the controversial grand jury ruling in September.  

Cameron, a black Republican, was the special prosecutor who led the state investigation of the three Louisville cops involved in the fatal shooting of Taylor during a botched drug raid last year.

He was widely criticized over the grand jury's decision not to charge any of the officers in the black woman's death. The shooting had sparked protests in Louisville alongside national protests over racial injustice and police misconduct. 

Three Kentucky grand jurors on Friday filed a petition seeking to impeach state Attorney General Daniel Cameron

Three Kentucky grand jurors on Friday filed a petition seeking to impeach state Attorney General Daniel Cameron

Former officer Brett Hankison (pictured) was charged by the grand jury with three counts of wanton endangerment
John Mattingly
Detective Myles Cosgrove

Cameron was widely criticized over the Septembeer grand jury ruling that did not charge any of the officers in Taylor's death. Former officer Brett Hankison (left) was charged by the grand with three counts of wanton endangerment. Neither of the two other officers, John Mattingly (center) nor Myles Cogrove (right) were not charged

The petition accuses Cameron of breach of public trust and failure to comply with his duties as the state's chief law enforcement official. 

The jurors also claim Cameron did not give them the option to consider homicide offenses against detectives Jonathan Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison.

They do not accuse him of any crimes, but impeachment is not considered a criminal proceeding. 

Kentucky law requires impeachment petitions to be referred to a House committee but does not require any further action. Under the state's constitution, the House possesses the sole power of impeachment. 

An impeachment trial is held in the state Senate, with a conviction requiring the support of two-thirds of the senators present. 

The petition against Cameron, which was also signed by a handful of Kentuckians, was submitted to the overwhelmingly Republican Kentucky House. 

Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, the chair of the impeachment committee, said they will review the petition when it's officially filed after lawmakers return to the state capital on February 2, the Courier Journal reported. 

The attorney general will then be given the opportunity to reply.  

'The grand jurors did not choose this battle,' Kevin Glogower, the attorney representing the jurors, said in a statement Friday. 

Taylor's shooting had sparked protests in Louisville alongside national protests over racial injustice and police misconduct

Taylor's shooting had sparked protests in Louisville alongside national protests over racial injustice and police misconduct

'This battle chose them. 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.'   

Cameron had said in a widely viewed news conference in September that the grand jury had ruled the officers' actions were justified because they acted in self defense. 

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, admitted to shooting at officers from inside their home after mistaking the cops for intruders. 

The bullet ended up striking Louisville police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly in the leg, prompting officers to return fire with 32 rounds into the home, five of which struck Taylor.

Cameron at the time also said his office had presented 'every homicide offense' to the grand jury 'before it came to its conclusion.' 

Members of the jury later spoke out against his statements, claiming the 12-member panel was not given the option to consider charges against the officers like he claimed.  

Taylor is pictured with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker
Breonna Taylor

The two officers who shot Taylor, according to ballistics evidence, were not charged by the grand jury. One of those officers was shot by Taylor's boyfriend (left) during the raid and returned fire. Taylor's boyfriend said he thought an intruder was breaking into her apartment 

The anonymous grand jurors, who were part of an impartial group of Kentucky citizens picked to review potential felony charges in the case, had to file a motion to speak freely about the case.  

Grand jury proceedings are typically kept under wraps and members votes in secret on whether they believe there is enough evidence to charge a person with a crime.

Three grand jurors in the case had argued they did not agree with the charges presented and wanted to explore criminal charges but were denied because Cameron's prosecutors believed none of those charges would stick.  

They also accused Cameron in their petition of 'misleading' the public when he claimed the jurors had agreed that the officers' actions were justified.

'[N]either Cameron nor anyone from his office mentioned any homicide offense to the grand jury,' the petition stated. 

'Not only were no homicide offenses presented as alleged, no charges of any kind were presented to the Grand Jury other than the three wanton endangerment charges against Detective Hankinson.'  

Hankison was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in June after officials said he violated policy by 'wantonly and blindly' firing his gun during the raid.

He was later charged for the offense and has pleaded not guilty. Cosgrove and Mattingly were not charged.

Cosgrove, however, was one of two officers who were fired for misconduct in the case as a result of an internal investigation earlier this month.
 

Detective Joshua Jaynes, who obtained the controversial no-knock search warrant for Taylor's apartment, was also terminated. 

Friday's petition is the latest in a flurry of tit-for-tat efforts to impeach Kentucky elected officials. 

Four Kentucky citizens recently petitioned the state House of Representatives to impeach Democratic Governor Andy Beshear for executive actions he took in response to the coronavirus pandemic, and the matter was assigned to a House committee for review.

Beshear's actions had been upheld by the state Supreme Court, and the governor says there are 'zero grounds' for his removal.

Meanwhile, Cameron is a close ally of US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and is seen as a rising GOP star. 

The comments below have not been moderated.

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

We are no longer accepting comments on this article.