Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Kenneth Walker Scores Major Legal Victory
On Monday (March 8), Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Olu Stevens ruled that the charges against Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, should be dismissed with prejudice, WDBJ7 reports.
Walker faced charges for allegedly shooting and wounding a police officer last year during the no-knock warrant raid that took Taylor’s life.
Prosecutors in Kentucky had been moving to permanently dismiss criminal charges against Kenneth Walker who was present when Louisville police shot and killed Taylor.
The news comes after nearly a year of legal battles for Walker, including accusations that he tried to harm the officers. With the dismissal, he can’t be retried for the alleged crime.
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Walker was charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer after allegedly opening fire on and wounding Louisville Metro Police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly during the raid, which turned out to be a botched action and cost Taylor her life.
Walker said he initially believed the raid was a home invasion, and his attorneys say he acted in self defense. He was jailed after the incident and filed a lawsuit over his arrest in September. In October, Mattingly filed a lawsuit against Walker for emotional distress, assault and battery.
The charges against Walker were dropped in May 2020, but without prejudice, which means he could have faced the same charges again in the future.
Walker’s attorney Steve Romines told CBS News in a statement after the ruling that prosecutors have finally acknowledged that he acted in self defense. “He looks forward to continuing the fight to hold the real wrongdoers accountable for the harm that they’ve caused,” Romines said to the news outlet. “Both he, individually, and our community, as a whole, cannot begin the process of healing until that happens.”