Louisville officer files suit against Breonna Taylor's boyfriend
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (NewsNation Now) — A Kentucky police officer has filed a lawsuit against Breonna Taylor's boyfriend.
In the lawsuit, Louisville Metro Police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly claimed he was shot in the thigh by Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, during the police search in Taylor's home.
He alleges that the shot was "outrageous, intolerable, and offends all accepted standards of decency or morality."
The lawsuit accuses Walker of battery, assault, and emotional distress.
Walker's attorney, Steve Romines, called the legal action a "baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny."
Kenny Walker is protected by law under KRS 503.085 and is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability as he was acting in self defense in his own home. Even the most basic understanding of Kentucky’s Stand Your Ground law and the “Castle Doctrine” evidences this fact. One would think that breaking into the apartment, executing his girlfriend and framing him for a crime in an effort to cover up her murder would be enough for them. Yet this baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny indicates otherwise.
Attorney Steve Romines on behalf of Kenneth Walker
Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville emergency medical technician studying to become a nurse, was killed March 13 after being roused from sleep by police at her door. Taylor was shot multiple times by police after Walker fired once at white officers executing a narcotics warrant. Walker said he didn't know it was police and thought it was an intruder.
The warrant was approved as part of a narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at her home.
The case has fueled nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.