Retired Los Angeles police sergeant Cheryl Dorsey, a black woman, seemed to suggest that Kentucky’s black attorney general is not truly black because of his handling of the Breonna Taylor case.
Dorsey appeared on MSNBC on Wednesday to react to grand jury charges announced against one former officer involved in the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman who was killed by police in March. Earlier that day, former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was indicted on three charges of first-degree wanton endangerment for allegedly “blindly” firing 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment during a police raid the night of her death.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron led the investigation into Taylor’s death. He appeared at a press conference on Wednesday to defend his office’s conduct and review of the case, and answer questions on the grand jury indictment.
“I certainly understand the pain that has been brought about by the tragic loss of Miss Taylor. I understand that as an attorney general,” Cameron said. “I understand that as a black man how painful this is, which is why it was so incredibly important to make sure we did everything we possibly could to uncover every fact.”
“There was not a day that the people in this office did not spend thinking about this case,” he continued. “Criminal law is not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief, and that is true here. But my heart breaks of the loss of Miss Taylor.”
Dorsey rejected Cameron’s remarks and appeared to suggest that the Republican attorney general should have pushed for tougher charges, possibly for murder, against the officers involved.
Well, listen. Not only is he being intellectually dishonest about that, you know, I find all of his remarks with regards to this whole entire press conference offensive. … Let me say this as a black woman. He does not speak for black folks. He’s skin-folk, but he is not kinfolk. And so just like he thinks they can’t speak for Kentucky, because he is up there with a black face, he does not speak for all of us. This was not a tragedy. This was a murder. He should be ashamed of himself.
MSNBC guest on black Kentucky AG Cameron: "He's skinfolk, but he is not kinfolk…he should be ashamed of himself." pic.twitter.com/Y9lNvSmPtS
— Thomas Catenacci (@ThomasCatenacci) September 23, 2020
The grand jury charges in Taylor’s death have been expected since Monday. The Louisville Metro Police Department declared a state of emergency ahead of the announcement in anticipation of potentially violent unrest in the aftermath.
“In anticipation of Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement in the Breonna Taylor case, I am declaring a state of emergency for the Louisville Metro Police Department,” Police Chief Robert Schroeder wrote in a memo Monday.
“To ensure that we have the appropriate level of staffing to provide for public safety services and our policing functions, effective immediately the LMPD will operate under the emergency staffing and reporting guidelines as outlined in the Standard Operating Procedures, Emergency Response Plan, and collective bargaining agreements until further notice,” he said.