Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend Files Federal Lawsuit Against Louisville Police Department

Kenneth Walker III has filed a federal lawsuit against Louisville, Kentucky, the city’s police department and multiple officers over the death of girlfriend Breonna Taylor. 

According to local news outlets, Walker on Friday filed the lawsuit, which states his Fourth Amendment rights protecting him from unwarranted searches and seizures were violated during the police raid that resulted in Taylor’s death. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, said officers “knew at the time of the warrant’s execution that the factual basis for the warrant was fabricated.” The filing also alleges the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) participates in patterns and practices of not properly supervising the review of search warrant affidavits.  

In the wee hours of March 13, 2020, armed members of the LMPD performed a “no-knock” search warrant at Taylor’s apartment as she and Walker slept. The raid was part of a drug investigation that police say was supposed to lead to recovering drugs. No drugs, however, were found at Taylor’s residence. 

Walker maintains that he didn’t know who was breaking in and assumed it was a home invasion. He fired his gun at the intruders, striking one officer in the thigh. An investigation found that Taylor was shot at least five times by officers. Shortly after the incident, the LMPD charged Walker with assault and the attempted murder of Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly. However, another investigation concluded that Walker’s actions were warranted given his account of events. As a result, all charges against Walker were dropped on March 8.   

The LMPD fired three detectives—Joshua Jaynes, Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison—in the aftermath of the raid. Hankison, however, is currently the only officer facing criminal charges. He was charged with jeopardizing the lives of Taylor’s neighbors by blindly firing into her apartment. This came after celebrities, activists and protesters had been demanding for months that the cops involved in Taylor’s death be charged and sentenced. 

An FBI investigation is currently ongoing, but so far no one has been held responsible for Taylor’s death. 

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