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Louisville officer involved in Breonna Taylor's death files lawsuit against her boyfriend

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg, filed the counterclaim against Kenneth Walker alleging assault, battery and emotional distress.
Kenneth Walker and Breonna Taylor
Kenneth Walker and Breonna Taylor.Courtesy Kenneth Walker

Louisville police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg during the deadly March 13 raid at Breonna Taylor's apartment, filed a lawsuit against her boyfriend alleging assault, battery and emotional distress.

The suit claims that Kenneth Walker's conduct was "outrageous, intolerable and offends all accepted standards of decency and morality" when he fired a shot that night, which police have said struck Mattingly in the thigh.

"Walker did intentionally shoot Mattingly or acted recklessly in firing his pistol in the direction of the Police Officers who were serving a search warrant," the suit states.

Mattingly and two other officers — detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison — entered Taylor's apartment early in the morning on March 13 seeking evidence in a narcotics investigation. Her address was listed on the warrant but the target of the probe, an ex-boyfriend, lived at a different location.

Image: Jonathan Mattingly
Jonathan Mattingly.Louisville Metro Police

The suit recounts the events of the raid, saying that officers knocked on the door several times and announced themselves as police but did not get a response. When officers broke down the front door, Walker fired a shot from the hallway, hitting Mattingly, it says.

The officers returned fired, killing Taylor.

Mattingly has experienced "severe trauma, mental anguish, and emotional distress" because of Walker's actions, the lawsuit claims. He is seeking a jury trial and damages.

Steve Romines, an attorney for Walker, said the suit was "the latest in a cycle of police aggression" and an "obstruction of the facts in what is an obvious coverup."

"If Kenny can be sued for defending himself, make no mistake, all lawful gun owners’ rights are at risk. And that should scare everyone," he said in a statement Friday. "We intend to defend Kenny — once again — from baseless charges intended to harm, intimidate, and cover up the events of March 13, 2020.”

Kent Wicker, Mattingly's lawyer, said: "Mattingly was shot and nearly killed by Kenneth Walker. He’s entitled to, and should, use the legal process to seek a remedy for the injury that Walker has caused him."

The suit is a counterclaim to a civil complaint Walker filed in September against Louisville police and the city. Walker was initially charged with attempted murder and assault, but the charges were later dropped.

In an interview on "CBS This Morning" to discuss Taylor's death, Walker said that they heard a "loud bang at the door" and that no one responded when they called out several times.

"It was dead silent. I'm a million percent sure that nobody identified themselves," he said.

"If it was the police at the door and they just said 'we're the police,' me or Breonna didn't have a reason at all not to open the door and see what they wanted," he added.

Walker said he was "deathly afraid" when the door came off its hinges and that he grabbed his gun and fired, thinking it was an intruder.

Mattingly and Cosgrove were placed on administrative leave following the shooting at Taylor's apartment; Hankison was fired in June.

A grand jury declined to indict the officers in connection with Taylor's death, instead indicting Hankison on charges of wanton endangerment for the gunshots that went into a neighboring apartment. He has pleaded not guilty.