Advertisement

Judge delays release of Breonna Taylor grand jury recordings to protect witnesses, lawyers say

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A judge agreed to state Attorney General Daniel Cameron's request for a delay in releasing grand jury recordings in the controversial Breonna Taylor case, initially due by noon Wednesday.

Cameron asked for a one-week extension in a motion filed Tuesday, saying the delay was necessary to protect witnesses' personal information. The high-profile case has prompted threats against officials and police officers.

Judge Ann Bailey Smith gave his office a new deadline of noon Friday to submit the recordings.

Stew Mathews, who represents former detective Brett Hankison, confirmed the deadline to The Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.

ADVERTISEMENT

Elizabeth Kuhn, a spokeswoman for Cameron, confirmed that Smith "granted an extension ... to give us proper time to redact specific personal information of witnesses."

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron discusses the results of a grand jury investigation in the Breonna Taylor case Sept. 23 in Frankfort, Ky. Of the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers investigated in Taylor's death in March, one was indicted on charges of recklessly shooting into a neighboring apartment.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron discusses the results of a grand jury investigation in the Breonna Taylor case Sept. 23 in Frankfort, Ky. Of the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers investigated in Taylor's death in March, one was indicted on charges of recklessly shooting into a neighboring apartment.

Cameron's office wants to "redact personal identifiers of any named person, and to redact both names and personal identifiers of any private citizen."

Kuhn said Wednesday morning that the audio recording is 20 hours long and that the office filed a motion to request additional time "to redact personally identifiable information of witnesses, including addresses and phone numbers."

More: Kentucky AG's decision in the Breonna Taylor case is being picked apart. Here's why.

In response to myriad threats, the Louisville Metro Police Department is "providing extraordinary protection," including up to 400 hours of security each week to protect officers, public officials and their families, according to a motion filed by F. Scott Lewis, attorney for the grand jury witnesses.

Smith ordered Cameron on Monday to include the grand jury recording as evidence in the criminal case against Hankison.

Wednesday, 13 witnesses interviewed by the LMPD Public Integrity Unit and the Attorney General's Office filed a separate motion seeking a limited protective order that would prevent anything included in the public case file from including their names or other identifying information.

The motion cited the "thousands, if not millions" of people interested in the case and potential for "threats to and reprisals against witnesses."

Previously: 'Aggrieved' juror in Breonna Taylor case wants grand jury recordings released, attorney says

Attorney for juror: 'The public deserves to know everything'

Cameron said Monday that he would comply with Smith's order, but he was concerned it could compromise a federal investigation and have unintended consequences of tainting the jury pool.

Sam Aguiar, a Louisville attorney who has represented Taylor's family, said Wednesday the move was "par for the course for Daniel Cameron to blatantly mislead the public."

"He literally told the world two days ago that he'd comply with the order," Aguiar said. "Maybe it's just now hitting him that the public, when they hear the truth about what happened in the proceedings, will have serious concerns about the integrity of the process.

"Let's all hope this stall tactic isn't an effort to buy time and seek a writ."

Monday, a grand juror in the case filed a court motion – in a very unusual move calling for the release of the recording and transcript, along with permission to speak freely about what charges and defendants were not considered.

"The public deserves to know everything," said Kevin Glogower, an attorney for the grand juror in a news conference Tuesday.

One week ago, the grand jury indicted Hankison on three counts of wanton endangerment but did not bring charges against any of the officers for Taylor's death.

Hankison's charges stemmed from shots he fired into a neighboring apartment with three residents.

Cameron's investigation has sprung leaks and faced intense scrutiny from the public and attorneys for Taylor's family. Louisville-based attorney Lonita Baker called for a new special prosecutor to be appointed to present charges in Taylor's death.

Several groups have called for evidence and grand jury materials to be released to the public in the week since the indictments against Hankison were announced.

More: Experts say Breonna Taylor grand juror's extraordinary bid to end secrecy is the right move

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor grand jury recordings: Judge delays release for privacy