Breonna Taylor honored on 30th birthday; organization announces campaign against AG Daniel Cameron

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Until Freedom, a national social justice organization, gathered individuals to Jefferson Square Park to honor Breonna Taylor on what would have been her 30th birthday.

During Monday’s conference, Until Freedom announced they are starting a statewide campaign to stop Attorney General Daniel Cameron from winning the upcoming election for Kentucky’s governor.

Cameron recently won the republican candidacy for Ky. governor and will be facing against incumbent Ky. governor Andy Beshear in November’s elections.

Organizers argued reasons Kentuckians should not vote for Cameron, specifically citing his team’s handling of the Breonna Taylor case.

“What I want people to understand is we didn’t decide that Daniel Cameron didn’t matter,” Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer said. “He decided that we didn’t matter. He decided that Breonna didn’t deserve justice. He decided that- not only did he decide- he continuously told us, right or wrong, he will always back these people who are killing us. It’s crazy Breonna should be here celebrating her 30th birthday. It’s crazy people who never knew her had to come out here and fight for her.”

“The message will not only be for Daniel Cameron, it would be for Donald Trump, it will be for Mitch McConnell, and all those that oppose the sanctity of life in the communities that we organize,” Until Freedom co-founder Linda Sarsour said.

“It started with Breonna for us, but if he (Cameron) gets in that position they are going to continuously kill us and he is okay with that. I am not OK with that,” Palmer added. “So we got to do better for ourselves, and we have to make sure that we don’t let him in there.”

“We knew that Daniel Cameron was not the person for the job three years ago,” activist Shameka Parrish-Wright said. “Some of you needed a DOJ report to show that, but we felt that right here at Jefferson Square, AKA Justice Square, AKA Breeway.”

Many opponents against Cameron said he mishandled the case after no charges were filed against the three officers in relation to Taylor’s death.

Taylor was shot and killed during a police raid on March 13, 2020, where three Louisville Metro Police officers conducted a “no-knock warrant” at Taylor’s apartment.

>>FULL COVERAGE: The Breonna Taylor Case

After officers breached the door, Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a shot from his door that hit former LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the femoral artery.

Mattingly, along with officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, fired shots back into the apartment, with one of Cosgrove’s shots hitting and killing Taylor.

Hankison was the only officer charged following grand jury proceedings in Sept. 2020, but for three counts of wanton endangerment after shots fired into Taylor’s apartment made their way into neighboring apartments.

Cameron provided a statement through the Republican Party of Kentucky on Monday afternoon soon after the conference.

“As I said in 2020, Ms. Taylor’s death was a tragedy. Every day, the Taylor family wakes up knowing someone they loved is no longer with them.

My obligation is to follow the law, no matter what—even when protestors show up on my lawn. Unlike Andy Beshear, I’ll never abandon the law or our cops for political purposes. Andy Beshear has downplayed crime in Kentucky, ignoring skyrocketing homicides in Louisville and even saying it’s ‘unfair’ to use the word ‘looting’ to describe robbery.

I’ve always followed the law without fear or favor, and that’s exactly what I’ll do as Governor.”