How GOP nominee Cameron, DOJ & celebs got involved in Breonna Taylor case. A timeline.

More than three years have passed since Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot by Louisville Metro Police in her apartment.

In the years since, celebrities and Kentucky-based activists have taken to the streets to demand justice for Taylor’s death. The federal Department of Justice has investigated Louisville police and found a pattern of discriminatory behavior. Legislation banning or limiting no-knock warrants has been proposed in cities and states across the country in her honor.

And Daniel Cameron, the Republican attorney general whose office investigated Taylor’s death, has mounted a campaign for higher office, reigniting criticism over his handling of the 2020 case.

Here’s a look back at the key moments surrounding Taylor’s death, the national controversy that followed and Cameron’s role in it all.

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The immediate aftermath of Taylor’s death

Though Taylor’s death would eventually prompt national outcry and she would become a household name, it didn’t start out that way. As the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic begin to grip the country, Taylor’s death largely went unnoticed for months.

March 13, 2020: At around 12:40 a.m., a group of LMPD officers attempt to serve a search warrant at Taylor’s apartment in south Louisville. Officers say they knocked and announced their presence, but Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who was inside the apartment, says he didn’t know it was police on the other side of the door. The warrant was obtained with a no-knock provision.

When officers use a battering ram to force open the front door, Walker fires one shot from his legally owned handgun, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly; three officers — Mattingly and detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison — collectively fire 32 times in return. Police bullets struck Taylor, an emergency room technician, six times, killing her in the hallway of her apartment. Walker was arrested for assault and the attempted murder of a police officer.

April 27, 2020: Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, sues LMPD and the three officers who fired shots the night of the raid for wrongful death. The complaint alleges officers used excessive force and were grossly negligent. Louisville lawyers Sam Aguiar and Lonita Baker are the lead attorneys on the suit.

May 11, 2020: Ben Crump, a Florida-based attorney with a high-profile reputation for representing Black clients who have been killed or injured by police or vigilantes, announces he will join Palmer’s legal team aside Aguiar and Baker.

May 13, 2020: Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine recuses his office from the case, citing a conflict of interest due to the ongoing prosecution of Walker for shooting Mattingly. Wine asks for a special prosecutor to review if officers’ conduct that night is criminal, which is a standard procedure following LMPD Public Integrity Unit investigations into police shootings. Cameron’s office of special prosecutions keeps the case.

May 21, 2020: The FBI’s Louisville office announces it will launch an investigation into Taylor’s death.

May 22, 2020: Wine’s office dismisses criminal charges against Walker, saying additional investigation was necessary.

May 25, 2020: George Floyd, a Black man, was murdered by police in Minneapolis. Bystander cell phone video captured Floyd’s death, caused by officer Derek Chauvin’s knee pressed into Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, quickly circulated online, provoking an intense backlash and widespread protests.

May 28, 2020: On the heels of protests following Floyd’s death, protests also begin in Louisville. On this day, recordings of 911 calls made in the immediate aftermath of Taylor’s death — including Walker’s frantic call — are released to the public. “Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend,” Walker is heard telling a dispatcher. During the protests downtown that night, seven people were shot by an unknown gunman. The daily protests will continue for months.

May 30, 2020: Beshear announces he is sending members of the Kentucky National Guard to Louisville to “help keep peace” during the nightly demonstrations.

June 1, 2020: LMPD and National Guard members respond to reports of a crowd out after curfew in the West End of Louisville when a member of the Guard fatally shoots David McAtee, the owner of a popular barbecue stand.

A long summer waiting for answers

As attorney general’s investigation carries into the summer months, people in Louisville and beyond await the decision from Cameron’s office.

June 14, 2020: In an open letter posted on her website, Beyoncé tells Cameron his office “has both the power and the responsibility to bring justice to Breonna Taylor, and demonstrate the value of a Black woman’s life.”

June 18, 2020: As protests continue in Louisville and demonstrators continue to demand information about Taylor’s death, Cameron hosts a press conference to provide an update on the investigation. Cameron says state law allows his office to choose a special prosecutor from elsewhere in Kentucky, but “we felt that given the importance of this case, the heavy workload associated with the investigation, and the amount of time that had already transpired since the shooting, our office would proceed with handling the investigation and prosecution.”

Cameron asks for patience as the investigation unfolds, and says his office will “pursue the truth based on the law, whether that leads to convictions or exonerations.”

June 23, 2020: LMPD moves to terminate Hankison, the detective who fired 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment through a covered glass patio door and bedroom window. The letter informing Hankison says his actions showed an “extreme indifference to the value of human life.”

June 25, 2020: Hundreds of protesters gather on the steps of the Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort, including celebrities like Jada Pinkett Smith and the rapper Common, and Taylor’s family and legal team.

July 14, 2020: Dozens of protesters march on Cameron’s home in the suburban Louisville city of Graymoor-Devondale. Protesters sat on Cameron’s front lawn chanting Taylor’s name and “No justice! No peace!” Police arrest 87 people, including NFL wide receiver Kenny Stills, Real Housewives of Atlanta reality star Porsha Williams and entertainer Yandy Smith. (The criminal charges are later dismissed by the prosecutor.)

July 30, 2020: For the first time in magazine history, Oprah Winfrey announces she will not be on the publication’s cover, instead ceding it to Taylor. “I cry for justice in her name,” the media mogul wrote.

August 25, 2020: Cameron speaks at the Republican National Convention. “Whether you are the family of Breonna Taylor or David Dorn, these are the ideals that will heal our nation’s wounds. Republicans will never turn a blind eye to unjust acts, but neither will we accept an all-out assault on Western civilization,” Cameron says. Dorn was a 77-year-old Black man and retired St. Louis Police captain who was murdered as he tried to stop looting during the protests that followed Floyd’s death.

September 2, 2020: Democratic nominee for president Joe Biden says the officers who shot Taylor should be charged.

September 15, 2020: Taylor’s mother and Louisville Metro Government announce they have settled Palmer’s civil suit. The city agreed to a series of police reforms and a record-setting $12 million settlement, while also admitting no wrongdoing for Taylor’s death.

Answers, outcry and backlash

September 21, 2020: Unbeknownst to the public, the grand jury charged with reviewing the investigation into Taylor’s death is convened in Jefferson County. It meets for three days.

September 23, 2020: A Jefferson County grand jury returns an indictment against just one of the three officers who fired shots into Taylor’s apartment the night she died. Hankison, the detective who had been fired in June, was indicted for three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, a felony. However, the charges were not for endangering Taylor nor her boyfriend Walker, but for three people in an adjacent apartment that was also pierced by bullets.

Cosgrove and Mattingly were not indicted.

At a news conference in Frankfort, Cameron says criminal homicide charges were not applicable for the officers who shot Taylor because “our investigation showed — and the grand jury agreed — that Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in the return of deadly fire after having been fired upon by Kenneth Walker.”

Cameron also says his office did not investigate how officers secured the warrant for Taylor’s apartment, which was alleged to have falsified information on the affidavit presented to the judge. Federal investigators would handle that probe, he says.

At a press conference, President Donald Trump calls Cameron “a star” and says, “he’s handling it very well.” Trump also says he will later have a call with Beshear and says the governor’s decision to call up the National Guard is a “good thing.”

Protests in Louisville that night turn violent when a gunman nonfatally shoots two LMPD officers.

September 25, 2020: Taylor’s family and attorneys gather in downtown Louisville to speak for the first time since the indictment. A statement from Taylor’s mother says she never had faith in Cameron to handle the investigation. Baker, one of Palmer’s attorneys, calls on Cameron to “quit dodging” the question of if his office even presented charges for Taylor’s death to the grand jury.

September 28, 2020: In an unusual move, one of the grand jurors from the Taylor case anonymously secures an attorney to demand the release of the audio recording of the secret proceedings so that “the truth may prevail.” The court filing says Cameron used the grand jury “as a shield to deflect accountability” and the juror requested permission to speak freely about what charges were or were not presented by the attorney general’s office.

In a statement that same night, Cameron’s office admits “the only charge” presented was for Hankison’s three counts of wanton endangerment.

October 2, 2020: Complying with a judge’s order, the attorney general’s office releases about 15 hours of audio from the grand jury proceedings. Prosecutorial recommendations and juror deliberations are not included. In a statement, Cameron says he is “confident that once the public listens to the recordings, they will see that our team presented a thorough case.”

October 3, 2020: Saturday Night Live musical guest Megan Thee Stallion uses one of her performances to call out the attorney general by incorporating audio from Until Freedom activist Tamika Mallory, who says, “Daniel Cameron is no different than the sellout Negroes that sold our people into slavery.”

October 6, 2020: Cameron responds to Megan Thee Stallion’s performance on Fox News, saying those sorts of comments have been “hurled at” him for identifying “with a different political philosophy” since college.

October 20, 2020: A Jefferson County Circuit Judge rejects Cameron’s request to not allow the grand juror to speak out anonymously. Through attorney Kevin Glogower, the grand juror releases a statement saying the jury was never given the chance to consider any charges against officers other than Hankison’s wanton endangerment.

December 4, 2020: The Kentucky Prosecutors Advisory Council declines a request from Palmer to appoint a special prosecutor to review officer conduct in Taylor’s death.

December 17, 2020: In a news release, Cameron includes his handling of the Taylor case as an accomplishment from his first year as attorney general.

December 29, 2020: LMPD moves to fire detectives Cosgrove, who fired 16 rounds into Taylor’s apartment, and Joshua Jaynes, the officer accused of lying on the affidavit for the warrant.

2021: A new year, the same demands

As the first anniversary of Taylor’s death approaches, her family and activists continue their calls for justice for her death. But with time, the volume of those calls begins to fade.

January 22, 2021: The anonymous grand juror — along with two others who also anonymously spoke out — file an impeachment petition against Cameron.

February 22, 2021: Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, files a bill to ban most no-knock search warrants in Kentucky.

February 23, 2021: A House of Representatives committee recommends that Cameron not be impeached.

March 13, 2021: Hundreds of people march through downtown Louisville to mark one year since Taylor’s death. Activists continue to demand the officers be held criminally responsible for Taylor’s death.

March 30, 2021: Stivers’ no-knock bill is given final passage by the Kentucky General Assembly, clearing the way to go to the governor’s desk for consideration.

April 9, 2021: Beshear signs Stivers’ bill with Taylor’s mother at his side. “I cannot know the depths of pain caused by systematic racism, but in my administration we are committed to listening and continuing to act,” Beshear says.

April 26, 2021: The Department of Justice announces it is launching a patterns and practices investigation into LMPD and Louisville Metro Government.

2022: Legal developments and political aspirations

February 22, 2022: After a tedious, weeks-long process, a jury is seated in the wanton endangerment trial of ex-detective Hankison.

February 23, 2022: Hankison’s criminal trial begins with opening statements and the first of several witnesses for the state. Assistant Attorney General Barbara Maines Whaley, of Cameron’s office, is the lead prosecutor.

March 2, 2022: As Hankison’s trial continues, he takes the witness stand in his own defense, telling jurors Taylor’s death was a “tragedy” that “didn’t have to happen.” But, at the same time, Hankison says he did nothing wrong that night because he acted to protect his fellow officers.

March 3: 2022: Hankison’s trial concludes with closing arguments and is turned over to the jury. After about three hours of deliberation, the jury returns. Hankison is acquitted on all counts. “We respect the jury’s verdict,” Whaley, the prosecutor from Cameron’s office, told reporters, declining to comment further.

May 11, 2022: Cameron files his intent to run for governor in 2023.

June 16, 2022: With 11 months until the GOP gubernatorial primary, Cameron is endorsed by Trump.

August 4, 2022: The DOJ announces four current and former LMPD officers will face criminal charges for their roles in the falsified search warrant and subsequent raid on Taylor’s home. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland says the charges against officers — Hankison, Jaynes, Sgt. Kyle Meany and Detective Kelly Goodlett — include civil rights violations, conspiracy, obstruction and excessive use of force.

The news immediately renews scrutiny of Cameron’s handling of the case — of the prosecution of Hankison and his decision not to look into how the flawed warrant was obtained for Taylor’s apartment.

August 6, 2022: At the 142nd Annual Fancy Farm picnic hosted by St. Jerome Catholic Church in far west Kentucky, Democrats in attendance chant “Breonna Taylor!” for the duration of Cameron’s speech, at times rendering him difficult to hear over the crowd. Cameron tells police he will “always have your back and we will always support the blue.”

August 23, 2022: Goodlett, one of the Louisville detectives facing criminal charges, pleads guilty in federal court. In doing so, Goodlett admits she helped falsify the warrant affidavit for Taylor’s apartment and attempted to hide it after the fact.

November 8, 2022: Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Mary Shaw, who signed the flawed warrant for the raid on Taylor’s apartment, loses her bid for re-election.

November 27, 2022: In a YouTube video, right-wing candidate for governor Eric Deters says Cameron can’t beat Beshear in a general election because his handling of the Taylor case is a “millstone around his neck.”

2023: Cameron vs. Beshear shapes up

March 8, 2023: Nearly two years after launching a civil rights investigation, the DOJ says it found probable cause to believe Louisville police have violated federal law and the Constitution and announces a consent decree will follow. Among the DOJ’s findings: LMPD uses excessive force, conducts searches through unlawful stops, unlawfully arrests people of color and executes no-knock warrants unlawfully.

Cameron tweets that “the vast majority of Kentucky’s law enforcement” serve with dignity and honor, and he hopes the DOJ’s work will “help address lingering concerns.”

In a statement, Beshear says the findings are “concerning” and he hopes “Louisville will come together and see the findings of this report as an urgent opportunity to take intentional steps for positive, lasting change.”

April 19, 2023: Using footage from the 2020 protest at his home, Cameron releases an ad promoting himself as “the law enforcement candidate” in the 12-person GOP field. “They tried to intimidate me and my family. I stood strong then, and I won’t back down now,” he says.

April 22, 2023: Kelly Craft, another Republican candidate for governor, releases an ad slamming Cameron for “letting” the “woke” DOJ take over Louisville police.

May 16, 2023: Cameron wins the GOP nomination for Kentucky governor, making him the first Black person to win a major party nomination for the office in the commonwealth’s history.

May 17, 2023: The Democratic Governor’s Association, which backs Beshear’s re-election, launches the “Cameron Doesn’t Care” website which, in part, criticizes the attorney general’s handling of the Taylor investigation.

June 6, 2023: On what would have been Taylor’s 30th birthday, her family and activists gather to announce a coordinated effort to campaign against Cameron.