Kentucky’s Louisville Police Department is reportedly involved in several lawsuits in connection to the police-involved shooting death of Breonna Taylor, and it looks as if the spotlight will remain on the controversial division. In March 2020, Breonna Taylor was home with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, when plainclothes officers exercised a no-knock warrant on their apartment in the middle of the night as they slept. Walker reportedly fired shots believing they were intruders, resulting in the officers returning fire, striking and killing Taylor.
The investigation into the shooting would reportedly uncover that Taylor wasn’t involved in any wrongdoing and her boyfriend was arrested, and then released, from police custody. The controversial case continues to be widely discussed on social media as well as political circles, and we’re about to get a new perspective of the infamous incident now that one of the officers involved has announced plans to release a book.
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According to The Courier Journal, 48-year-old Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly has penned The Fight ForTruth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy. The book will reportedly be published by Post Hill Press, distributed by famed ViacomCBS subsidiary, Simon & Schuster. The book is expected to be released this Fall.
The publishing company has come under fire, but a quick search finds that Post Hill has helped produce books for controversial figures that include several right-wing and ultra-conservative names. During the shooting that took Breonna Taylor’s life, Mattingly was struck by a bullet that severed his femoral artery. The Courier Journal reports that Mattingly was hit by his fellow officer at the scene, Myles Cosgrove. The officers have been accused of firing aimlessly. Mattingly, himself, reportedly fired off six shots.
Kenneth Walker is reportedly suing Mattingly, while Mattingly is returning the favor and suing Walker for “emotional distress” and “anguish” for shooting at the officers that fateful day. Mattingly insists that he knocked on Taylor and Walker’s door and identified himself as an officer. Walker contests that never occurred and the charges against him were dropped.