By Norma Adams-Wade
Columnist
Who is Daniel Cameron and what does he have to do with the Breonna Taylor case? Cameron is the Kentucky Attorney General assigned in May to the Taylor case as a special prosecutor. He came aboard after the previous county attorney Tom Wine recused himself from the controversial case because of a conflict of interest. Cameron, 34, could be viewed as a political figure at the center of a firestorm. He is Kentucky’s first Black attorney general, a Republican Trump supporter, and the commonwealth state’s first Republican AG in more than 70 years. The son of a college professor’s mother and coffee shop owner father graduated from the University of Louisville where he played football and the Brandeis School of Law where he was Student Bar Association president.
In other words, he has all the credentials for a political rising star who has caught the eye of President Trump. The commander-in-chief seems to consider Cameron an ally after Cameron complimented Trump at a political rally. What does this have to do with Breonna Taylor? Well, some observers have questioned whether Cameron’s political leanings may explain why there have been no arrests in the Taylor case and why it has moved so slowly. Cameron holds all the cards right now in whether the Louisville, Kentucky police officers who fired shots – including eight that investigators say killed Taylor – will be prosecuted. After many public protests, changes were made early on in police procedures, but to date, there have been no arrests or charges. Enter entertainment media mogul and billionaire Oprah Winfrey.
Winfrey recently has taken a visible interest in the case. The super-star celebrity was not on the cover of her popular O Magazine for the first time in the publication’s history. Instead, Winfrey ran an artist rendition of Breonna Taylor. Inside the magazine, Winfrey commented on the need for justice for Taylor saying, “We can’t be silent.” The cover art was done by a rising star, self-taught, digital artist Alexis Franklin, 24, of Dallas, and Houston. Winfrey also paid for 26 billboards displaying the magazine cover of Taylor throughout the Louisville area. That’s 26 for each year of Taylor’s life. I was just thinking…It appears that Winfrey’s intervention is getting results where little else has. This August, the case has seen more movement than it has in months. Cameron met with Taylor’s family for the first time on August 12, more than 150 days since the 26-year-old emergency medical technician died from the police bullets fired in her Louisville residence on the night of March 13.
Police went to the wrong home seeking a drug suspect. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, awoke when police burst in but did not knock. Walker told investigators he picked up a gun that he had a permit to carry, thinking he and Taylor were being invaded by robbers. Police fired back, struck Taylor eight times and she died. Walker was arrested for firing at police but later released after lawyers and community leaders intervened on his behalf. Wide-spread public protests have continued. Lawyers have pushed for justice. Various officials have resigned. The FBI is investigating. One officer was fired. Two others are on administrative leave. None have been charged nor arrested. Ben Crump, a well-known attorney representing Taylor’s family has said recently that he sees indications that arrests may come by the end of September or early October.
