Beyoncé demands justice for Breonna Taylor in open letter to Ky. AG Daniel Cameron
In an open letter Sunday, Beyoncé called on Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron to act and bring criminal charges against the Louisville Metro Police Department investigators who shot and killed 26-year-old Breonna Taylor.
In the letter, which was posted on the singer’s website, she told Cameron that he had “both the power and the responsibility” to bring justice in the case.
Taylor was shot eight times by police who entered her Louisville apartment with a “no-knock” warrant in the middle of the night on March 13.
In the letter, Beyoncé calls for criminal charges against Louisville police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, and detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. She writes that the investigations into the case so far have raised more questions than answers.
“Three months have passed — and Breonna Taylor’s family still waits for justice,” she wrote. “Ms. Taylor’s family has not been able to take time to process and grieve. Instead, they have been working tirelessly to rally the support of friends, their community, and the country to obtain justice for Breonna.”
Beyoncé also calls for Cameron to commit to transparency in the investigation, and to investigate the LMPD’s response to Taylor’s death “as well as the pervasive practices that result in the deaths of unarmed Black citizens.”
“Don’t let this case fall into the pattern of no action after a terrible tragedy,” she wrote. “With every death of a Black person at the hands of police, there are two real tragedies; the death itself, and the inaction and delays that follow it. This is your chance to end that pattern. Take swift and decisive action in charging the officers. The next months cannot look like the last three.”
This story was originally published June 14, 2020 at 6:41 PM.
