FRANKFORT, Ky. — Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s Office of Special Prosecutions today filed with the Jefferson Circuit Court the Grand Jury audio recordings related to the investigation into the death of Ms. Breonna Taylor.
The recordings were filed prior to today’s 12 p.m. ET deadline ordered by a Jefferson Circuit Court Judge in the case of Commonwealth of Kentucky v. Brett Hankison. In compliance with the Judge’s order of Sept. 30, 2020, social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, and names of minors were redacted from the recording.
The audio recordings are approximately 15 hours long, and the redactions comprise approximately three minutes and fifty seconds of the entire proceedings. The Attorney General’s team also filed an unredacted copy of the Grand Jury recordings under seal with the court so that the Judge could compare the redacted and unredacted copies of the recordings, if needed.
Over the course of two-and-a-half days, the Attorney General’s team presented evidence in the case to a Jefferson County Grand Jury. The audio recordings contain the entire presentation of evidence. As is customary in the recording of Grand Jury proceedings, juror deliberations and prosecutor recommendations and statements were not recorded, as they are not evidence. Rule 5.16 of the Kentucky Rules of Criminal Procedure outlines the requirements for recording testimony before a Grand Jury.
“I’m confident that once the public listens to the recordings, they will see that our team presented a thorough case to the Jefferson County Grand Jury,” said Attorney General Cameron. “Our presentation followed the facts and the evidence, and the Grand Jury was given a complete picture of the events surrounding Ms. Taylor’s death on March 13. While it is unusual for a court to require the release of the recordings from Grand Jury proceedings, we complied with the order, rather than challenging it, so that the full truth can be heard.”
The audio recordings can be accessed by emailing the Office of the Jefferson Circuit Court Clerk at JeffersonOCCCMedia@kycourts.net