Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Kenneth Walker Sues Louisville Police
Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker is demanding police accountability after officers killed the 26-year-old EMT worker a year ago on March 13. He is now suing the Louisville Metro Police Department.
According to CNN, the federal lawsuit seeks damages for violations of his Fourth Amendment rights. Court docs obtained by CNN allege that “the warrant was based on fabricated assertions; the raid was unnecessarily conducted in the middle of the night; the officers did not announce they were police; and the officers responded with excessive force.”
The lawsuit also claims no-knock raids are usually handled by Louisville Metro Police SWAT not Louisville Metro Police Department.
Cliff Sloan, one of the lawyers representing Walker, said in a statement, "We are seeking to ensure that there is justice and accountability for the tragic and unjustified police assault on Kenneth Walker and killing of Breonna Taylor in her home in the middle of the night.”
After midnight on March 13, Louisville police officers Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove and Jonathan Mattingly executed a botched “no-knock” warrant at Taylor's apartment, which she shared with Walker. Shots were fired and Taylor was hit eight times and died.
Walker fired back with a legal gun, thinking someone was trying to break into their home.
The police raid found no drugs at Taylor’s apartment and she was not the target of the investigation. Rather, it was her ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover who police were after. Glover had been arrested earlier that same night.
On October 14, Walker told Gayle King, “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.”
Walker said that, believing it was intruders, he let off one shot as a warning. But that shot struck Hankison. The officers then released a barrage of gunfire, which killed Taylor .
“I don’t think I ever heard so many gunshots all at the same time,” Walker remembered. “I’ve never been to war, but I assume that’s what war sounds like.”
Attempted murder charges were filed against Walker but charges were dropped in May. In March, the charges were dismissed without prejudice.
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