Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend is suing the city of Louisville and its police department saying he was the victim of misconduct the night of the raid that saw his EMT girlfriend shot dead by officers.
Lawyers for Kenneth Walker filed the civil lawsuit in Jefferson County District Court in Kentucky on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old is seeking an unspecified amount in damages for assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and negligence the night Taylor was killed in her apartment during the raid.
‘Kenny continues to reel from the death of the love of his life, but he is also the victim and survivor of police misconduct – misconduct that threatens his freedom to this day,’ the complaint, obtained by the Louisville Courier Journal, says.
Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker filed the civil lawsuit in Jefferson County District Court in Kentucky on Tuesday
Walker was initially charged with attempted murder after firing a single shot that police say wounded an officer when they stormed into Taylor’s apartment the night of March 13 as they served a ‘no knock’ narcotics search warrant.
That charge was dropped by prosecutors in May without prejudice, which means he could potentially be charged again in the future.
His lawsuit aims to prevent that from happening and cites Kentucky’s stand your ground law.
That law prevents authorities from prosecuting anyone acting in self defense.
‘The chargers brought against me were meant to silence me and cover up Breonna’s murder. For her and those that I love, I can no longer remain silent,’ Walker said on Tuesday after the lawsuit was filed.
While Walker was not injured during the raid, his 26-year-old EMT girlfriend was shot eight times.
Officers never found any drugs in her home.
Walker fired his gun when officers stormed into the apartment and has since said he thought he was defending against a home invasion.
At the time, Walker told police that he could hear knocking on the night of the shooting but did not hear police announce themselves.
Walker said he was ‘scared to death’ so he grabbed his gun and when the door was knocked down, he fired a shot.
Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was shot dead by police serving the ‘no knock’ narcotics search warrant at her apartment
Walker was initially charged with attempted murder after firing a single shot that police say wounded an officer when they stormed into Taylor’s apartment the night of March 13. That charge was dropped by prosecutors in May without prejudice, which means he could potentially be charged again in the future
He said his intention was to fire a warning shot downward toward the ground.
‘I am a legal gun owner and I would never knowingly shoot at a police officer,’ Walker said on Tuesday.
Police say Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was shot in the leg by Kenneth during the raid.
His lawyer Steven Romines, however, has since said there is evidence that Walker didn’t fire the shot that injured the officer.
Romines said officers likely fired about 40 bullets into Taylor’s apartment in two different waves after Kenneth fired the initial shot.
‘We know police are firing wildly from various angles,’ Romines said.
‘The timeline and evidence at the scene is more indicative of (police) actually shooting Mattingly than it is Kenny Walker.’
He said crime scene photos of Walker’s round indicated it did not have any contact with blood.
The lawsuit says that Walker screamed for help as his girlfriend was bleeding out but no one came.
As he was being ordered out of the apartment by police, an officer asked if he had been struck by an bullets, the lawsuit says.
‘Oh, that’s unfortunate,’ the officer allegedly responded when Walker said no.
The lawsuit also says that another officer admitted to Walker as he was being placed in a police car that ‘there’s been a big misunderstanding here tonight’.
Walker fired his gun when officers stormed into the apartment and has since said he thought he was defending against a home invasion
Sam Aguiar, the attorney who is representing Taylor’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit, has slammed law enforcement and accused them of going to extreme lengths to try and tarnish the slain woman’s name by offering Glover a plea deal
The filing of the lawsuit comes a day after a lawyer for Taylor’s family said her ex-boyfriend had been offered a plea deal that would have forced him to implicate the EMT in a drug case after her death.
Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar posted a photo on social media Monday that he said was a plea offer to Jamarcus Glover from prosecutors.
The photo of the document appeared to show Taylor listed as a ‘co-defendant’ in illegal activities leading up to April 22, weeks after her death.
The filing of the lawsuit comes a day after a lawyer for Taylor’s family said her ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover (above) had been offered a plea deal that would have forced him to implicate the EMT in a drug case after her death
‘Why would they put her name on there?’ Aguiar said in a statement. ‘It’s outrageous.’
Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine acknowledged the existence of the document but said it was part of preliminary plea negotiations with Glover and not an attempt to smear Taylor.
Taylor was fatally shot by police serving the narcotics search warrant as part of a wide-ranging police operation targeting Glover.
Glover and others were arrested on drug trafficking charges the same night Taylor was shot.
Wine issued a statement on Monday saying Taylor was never a co-defendant in the case against Glover.
He provided a copy of what he said was the final plea deal offered to Glover, which did not include her name but did list her address as a place where he picked up mail packages.
Wine said Glover implicated Taylor in his criminal activity in jail phone calls to Taylor. Jail phone calls reported by news media show Glover called Taylor 26 times in early January, including some calls to ask her to help him gather bond money.
The plea document furnished by Wine also said Glover kept some of his money at Taylor’s address.