Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend files lawsuit against Louisville police

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. 

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.  

Walker said on Tuesday that dropping the charge was ‘meant to silence me and cover up Breonna’s murder’.

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. 

He said his intention was to fire a warning shot downward toward the ground.  

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.