Actor George Clooney issued a statement following Republican Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s press conference Wednesday announcing the news that no officers will be indicted for murder in the Breonna Taylor case. During the presser, Cameron pointedly criticized outside celebrities for pushing apparent falsehoods in the Taylor case — a comment Clooney clearly took issue with.
“The justice system I was raised to believe in holds people responsible for their actions,” Clooney said, according to Deadline. “Her name was Breonna Taylor and she was shot to death in her bed by 3 white police officers, who will not be charged with any crime for her death. I know the community. I know the commonwealth. And I was taught in the schools and churches of Kentucky what is right and what is wrong.”
“I’m ashamed of this decision,” the 59-year-old added.
Clooney reportedly owns property in Los Angeles, New York City, England, and Italy.
Cameron emphasized to the people of Kentucky that they must seek truth, blasting outside celebrities advancing apparent falsehoods.
“Our reaction to the truth is the society we want to be,” the AG said at the presser. “Do we really want the truth? Or do we want a truth that fits our narrative? Do we want the facts? Are we content to blindly accept our own version of events? We, as a community, must make this decision.”
“There will be celebrities, influencers, and activists who having never lived in Kentucky, will try to tell us how to feel, suggesting they understood the facts of this case and that they know our community and the commonwealth better than we do,” he added. “They don’t.”
As outlined by The Daily Wire, the Republican AG said Wednesday that “witness testimony indicated officers appeared to correctly execute a search warrant on Taylor’s apartment in connection with a drug case and that the two other officers involved in an ensuing shootout with Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were justified in their use of force because Walker fired first.”
Two officers in the case were cleared, and another was charged with wanton endangerment in the first degree — which comes with a maximum sentence of five years — for shooting into a neighboring apartment while returning gunfire sparked by Taylor’s boyfriend.
Taylor was fatally shot by plainclothes officers who raided the 26-year-old’s Louisville, Kentucky, home in March.
Though the mainstream narrative surrounding Taylor’s death promoted the idea that she was killed when officers raided her home without knocking, media reports, testimony, and statement from Cameron indicate that officers involved did knock before the raid.
“Our intent was to give her give plenty of time to come to the door because they said she was probably there alone,” said Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, one of the three officers who discharged their weapons inside Taylor’s home, The Daily Wire reported.
CNN similarly reported: “Taylor’s apartment, according to police, was considered a less volatile, ‘soft target.’ As such, police commanders decided in advance to have officers knock and announce their presence before entry. That decision was communicated in a pre-operational briefing, according to a source familiar with the details of the operation who requested anonymity due to the ongoing investigation…”
“When there was no answer after repeated knocks, Mattingly said, he announced he was a police officer there to serve a search warrant,” the report added.
Related: 7 Myths & Misconceptions About The Breonna Taylor Case