Yahoo News 'My heart breaks': Attorney general holds back tears over Breonna Taylor death but says law doesn't respond to grief
Kentucky's attorney general paused to compose himself as he choked back tears discussing the tragic death of Breonna Taylor.
Asked if he understands the anger of the black community, Daniel Cameron said he feels that pain as the both state's chief law enforcement officer and as a black man.
“I understand that as a Black man, how painful this is... which is why it was so incredibly important to make sure that we did everything we possibly could to uncover every fact," he said at a press conference.
Mr Cameron on Wednesday announced an indictment of wanton endangerment against one of the three officers involved in the shooting, but there were no criminal charges directly related to Ms Taylor's death.
As he remembered conversations with Ms Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, Mr Cameron said he felt the pain of the tragic death but that criminal law was not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief.
“My heart breaks for the loss of Miss Taylor. And I’ve said that repeatedly. My mother, if something was to happen to me,” he said before pausing mid-sentence to compose himself. “Would find it very hard.... I’ve seen that pain on Miss Palmer’s face. I’ve seen that pain in the community.”
During the same exchange, Mr Cameron acknowledged that his office and his team have been under intense criticism and scrutiny, which had been misplaced.
"There was not a day that people in this office didn’t go to sleep thinking about this case, and there wasn't a day, where the first thing on our minds is getting to the truth on this case," he said.
He said the responsibility of the attorney general's office was to uncover fact and utilise every resource to bring the facts and truth to the grand jury.
Mr Cameron said the full grand jury report would not be released as there are pending indictments and a continuing FBI investigation.
"All the evidence was given to the grand jury and they made the decision that wanton endangerment was the charge to indict against [officer Brett] Hankison," he said.
Mr Hankison faces up to 15 years prison if found guilty on three counts of the Class D felony.
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