Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron given 24/7 armed security after alleged death threats
Attorney General Daniel Cameron will have 24/7 armed security at his disposal for the rest of the year after threats were made against his life, according to government documents.
The state Government Review Committee approved Cameron’s request for an around-the-clock security detail this month, but the start date was retroactively set for Aug. 26. The contract is for $300,000 and runs until Dec. 31, according to committee records.
The request qualified for an emergency exemption for security and emergency purposes, according to committee records.
“Our office has received detailed threats against the Attorney General, his wife, and members of his family,” Cameron’s office said in a statement. “The Attorney General’s protective detail determined that given the credibility of such threats, additional personnel and resources were needed to provide the appropriate level of security.”
One person has already been charged.
The attorney general allegedly received a death threat through a phone line dedicated to the Breonna Taylor case at his office, according to court records. Wesley Forrest Clay, 29, of Olathe, Kansas, has been charged with making a threat through interstate communications, according to court records.
“You will die if you do not give Breonna Taylor justice,” Clay said in the message left with Cameron’s office, according to an affidavit. “That is a threat. Try me.”
Clay was indicted on Oct. 1, according to court records. Cameron has also been publicly scrutinized by celebrities, protesters, faith leaders and others since his office’s investigation into Breonna Taylor’s death. The investigation resulted in charges for only one of the officers who fired shots at or in Taylor’s apartment the night she died.
Cameron has previously said that his critics are “cherry-picking facts” and that he’s just trying to do his job.
Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police Department investigators trying to execute a search warrant at her apartment in March. The officers were shot at by Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, when they knocked her door open, according to the findings of the investigation.
Cameron said Walker’s shot made the officers’ use of force justified. He only recommended wanton endangerment charges against now ex-detective Brett Hankison because his bullets traveled into neighboring apartments.
Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family, has since called for a new grand jury to reopen the investigation into Taylor’s case, saying that if Cameron won’t pursue justice for Taylor, “then we’ll continue to demand it.” Others have asked Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine to review the case and explore additional charges.
“He has not even tried to fulfill his duties with this case and has dragged his feet from the beginning,” Crump said about Cameron in a tweet Saturday.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 8:54 AM.