LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky’s attorney general, facing increasing pressure to charge police who fatally shot Breonna Taylor, met with the family Wednesday morning, according to his office, which released few details.
Attorney General Daniel Cameron met with Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, and other family members ‘‘to personally express his condolences,” according to a news release. The statement did not provide any other details of the meeting, which took place at a state office in Louisville, but added that the investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Cameron “seemed sincere and genuine, which I appreciated,” Palmer said in a written statement released to the news media, adding that the attorney general was the one who asked for the meeting.
“We all deserve to know the whole truth behind what happened to my daughter,” Palmer said. “The attorney general committed to getting us the truth. We’re going to hold him up to that commitment.”
As for the findings of the investigation, Palmer said Cameron “didn’t say which direction he’s pointing to, and I could be wrong, but after meeting him today I’m more confident that the truth will come out and that justice will be served.”
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was slain by Louisville police serving a “no knock” narcotics search warrant at her apartment on March 13. They found no drugs in her home. An officer was shot during the raid by her boyfriend, who has said he thought he was defending against a home invasion.
The state’s first African American attorney general, Cameron took over the case after the local prosecutor recused himself. He has seen increasing pressure from protesters in recent weeks.
Cameron has asked everyone to be patient during the investigation.
No prosecution for many arrested Portland protesters
PORTLAND, Ore. — People arrested in Portland since late May on nonviolent misdemeanor charges during the protests that have racked Oregon’s largest city for more than two months won’t be prosecuted.
The new policy announced Tuesday recognizes the outrage and frustration over a history of racial injustice that has led to the city’s often-violent protests and the practical realities of the court system, Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt said. It is running more than two months behind in processing cases because of COVID-19,
As a result, at least several hundred people arrested over the past few months will not face criminal prosecution, according to statistics provided by Schmidt’s office. The same policy applies to those arrested on similar charges in future demonstrations, he said.
“The protesters are angry . . . and deeply frustrated with what they perceive to be structural inequities in our basic social fabric. And this frustration can escalate to levels that violate the law,” Schmidt said.
Portland Police Chief Chuck Lovell, informed of the impending policy change last week, said the decision does not change Oregon law and still holds accouontable people who commit violent acts or intentionally damage property.
“Committing a crime is different from demonstrating,” Lovell said in a statement. “The arrests we make often come after hours of damage to private property, disruption of public transit and traffic on public streets, thefts from small businesses, arson, burglary, attacks on members of the community, and attacks against police.”
Ga. city OK’s moving pavilion where slaves were sold
Officials in a small city in rural Georgia have voted to remove a rare, 18th-century pavilion where slaves were once sold, though the decision must still clear legal hurdles, the city administrator said Wednesday.
The Louisville City Council at its meeting Tuesday night voted 4-1 to take down the Market House, or Slave Market, from the downtown, City Administrator Richard Sapp said.
The open-air, gazebo-like structure dating back to the late 1790s lies in the middle of a roadway and is listed as a historic site by federal officials.
Sapp said the city needs to check with transportation officials and make sure the removal does not run afoul of historic preservation rules. He was hopeful that process could be completed in a month.
The city also needs to come up with a plan for what to do with the structure, he said.
Some members of a committee tasked with making a recommendation to city officials had called for it to be relocated to a museum in the community.
Critics said the Market House was a constant reminder of a painful part of the country’s history and didn’t belong in Louisville — a city of 2,500 people about 50 miles southwest of Augusta where the majority of residents are Black.