Louisville Police Officer Sues Kenneth Walker, Boyfriend Of Breonna Taylor, For Emotional Distress, Assault, And Battery
In an attempt to deflect responsibility for the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, Louisville Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly has decided to file a civil suit against the 26-year-old’s boyfriend for emotional distress, assault, and battery on the night she was killed.
The lawsuit claims the Louisville Sergeant experienced “severe trauma, mental anguish, and emotional distress” because of Kenneth Walker’s actions on March 13.
As we previously reported, Mattingly and two other officers entered Taylor’s apartment early in the morning that day to carry out a drug investigation. Walker, a licensed gun owner who said he thought the officers were intruders, allegedly fired a shot that hit Mattingly in the leg. Police fired back, killing Taylor. She had no criminal record and no drugs were found in their home. “Walker’s conduct in shooting Mattingly is outrageous, intolerable, and offends all accepted standards of decency and morality,” the lawsuit said.
In a statement obtained by CBS News, Mattingly’s attorney Kent Wicker argues: “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.” Meanwhile, Walker’s attorney called Mattingly’s lawsuit 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,” attorney Steve Romines said in a statement obtained by the news site. “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,” he added. “Yet this baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny indicates otherwise.”
Walker was initially arrested and charged with attempted murder over the shooting, but those charges were later dropped. Walker has filed a lawsuit of his own against the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department and also sought immunity based on the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law.
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