Breonna Taylor's family and their lawyers have criticised Kentucky's attorney general for the failure to bring charges against police officers in her death, calling for him to release the transcripts of the grand jury proceeding while vowing to continue protests until the officers are charged.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, said in a statement read by a relative to a gathering in Louisville that she did not expect justice from state Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
Ben Crump, a lawyer for the family, urged the prosecutor to make the transcripts public, so people can see if anyone was present at the grand jury proceedings to give a voice to Taylor.
Governor Andy Beshear, a Democrat, has also called for Cameron to release what evidence he can.
Cameron's spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn said the prosecutor understood that Taylor's family "is in an incredible amount of pain and anguish" and that the grand jury decision was not the one they wanted.
But, the statement added, "prosecutors and grand jury members are bound by the facts and by the law".
Taylor, a black woman who was an emergency medical worker, was shot multiple times by white officers after Taylor's boyfriend fired at them, authorities said.
He said he fired in self-defence, wounding one officer.
Police were conducting a drug investigation and entered on a warrant connected to a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found inside.
Cameron has said the investigation showed officers acted in self-defence.
The grand jury charged one officer, who has already been fired, with firing into a neighbouring apartment.
At almost the same time that Taylor's family was decrying the handling of her case, a man accused of shooting at police during protests on Wednesday was being arraigned.
Two officers were wounded and are expected to recover.
A not guilty plea was entered Friday for Larynzo D Johnson, 26.
Bond was set at $US1 million ($A1.4 million).
Zac Meihaus, the lawyer representing Johnson at the arraignment, said it is difficult to "pinpoint" if Johnson fired the shots in question.
A prosecutor replied that a gun was recovered from Johnson, and there are video and witness accounts of the shootings.
The FBI is still investigating whether Taylor's civil rights were violated, and some of her supporters have put their hope in that probe, but the burden of proof for such cases is very high.
Australian Associated Press
