Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, whose office still hasn’t charged police officers involved in the killing of Louisville EMT Breonna Taylor, mentioned Taylor’s name in his speech at the Republican National Convention.
Cameron, who has been the subject of protests demanding justice for the March shooting death of Taylor during a botched raid on her home, touted the GOP’s supposed commitment to justice in remarks Tuesday night supporting President Donald Trump’s reelection. In a speech that included remarks about immigration, the economy and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, he briefly mentioned Taylor:
“In fact, it was Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, a future Republican president, who said democracy is a system that recognizes the equality of humans before the law. Whether you are the family of Breonna Taylor or David Dorn, these are the ideals that will heal our nation’s wounds,” said Cameron, acknowledging the ongoing protests against racial inequality and police violence.
Cameron went on to claim that “Republicans will never turn a blind eye to unjust acts, but neither will we accept an all-out assault on Western civilization.”
Taylor, 26, was shot eight times by Louisville officers who entered her home March 13 with a no-knock drug warrant, searching a suspect who was not there. No one has been charged. Dorn was a retired police officer in St. Louis killed in June in protest violence.
One of three cops involved in Taylor’s killing, Detective Brett Hankison, was fired in June. Two other officers, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly, remain on administrative leave.
Cameron, who is responsible for deciding whether to charge the officers, maintained in tweets this week that the “investigation remains ongoing.”
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) called on Cameron earlier on Tuesday to wrap up his investigation into Taylor’s death.
“We at least need an explanation of what steps still need to be done on the process side,” the governor said during a news conference. “We need some finality in this investigation. Miss Taylor’s family deserves the truth.”
Cameron’s mention of Taylor at the RNC without saying whether her killers would face justice was met with incredulity on social media:
Taylor’s death has inspired furious protests that have spread far beyond Kentucky. Celebrities, including Oprah, LeBron James, Cardi B and Beyoncé, have spoken out, demanding justice.
Demonstrators also have targeted Cameron’s home. In July, 87 people were arrested and accused of trying to “intimidate” the prosecutor during a sit-in outside his home. Last week, a group of senior citizens sat on his lawn with wheelchairs, walkers and knitting needles.
Cameron this month met with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, as well as Taylor’s sister, aunt and family attorneys.
Palmer said in a statement after the meeting that she felt Cameron “seemed sincere and genuine” and was “more confident” that “truth will come out and that justice will be served.”
“We let him know how important it was for their office to get all the facts, to get the truth and to get justice for Breonna,” said Palmer, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal. “We all deserve to know the whole truth behind what happened to my daughter.”
She added: “The attorney general committed to getting us the truth. We’re going to hold him up to that commitment.”