The lawsuit stems from the erroneous raid on Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020. Walker, thinking officers were intruders, fired one shot when officers broke down the door and Sgt. John Mattingly in the leg, authorities said. The officers brought back a barrage of firearms throughout the apartment, which killed Taylor and, according to a statement from the Attorney General’s office, nearly hit a family in another apartment.
Walker was arrested and charged with shooting at an officer, but the charges were initially dismissed last year and then dismissed last week with prejudice, or permanently.
Walker’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for Kentucky on Friday, alleging that LMPD officials violated Walker’s fourth amendment rights when they executed the search warrant at Taylor’s residence.
In the case, it is alleged that the warrant is based on fabricated allegations; the raid was carried out unnecessarily in the middle of the night; the officers did not announce that they were police; and the officers respond with excessive force. In the case, it is also alleged that officers who carried out the raid did not coordinate with the SWAT team of the Louisville metro police, who according to the lawsuit usually handle raids.
Furthermore, the case is more critical of the LMPD, saying it allows officers to seek warrants late at night and does so regardless of the circumstances. The lawsuit alleges that late-night warrant rights ‘predictably lead to dangerous situations in which the targets of searches err on the side of the police for intruders.’
LMPD said it would not comment on pending litigation. However, officers involved in the raid told investigators they repeatedly knocked and announced themselves before bursting through her front door with a hood.
Georgetown University Law Center professor Cliff Sloan, one of the attorneys representing Walker, said in a statement to CNN on Saturday that the case is important to justify Walker’s rights.
“We want to ensure that there is justice and accountability for the tragic and unfair police assault on Kenneth Walker and the murder of Breonna Taylor in her home in the middle of the night,” he said.
Taylor’s death has led to widespread protests against the way police and the criminal justice system can value black people’s lives. Her death also gave wider recognition to the dangers of coercive attacks, both for residents and a police force. The Louisville Metro Council unanimously passed ‘Breonna’s Law’ in June last year banning search warrants.
No officer involved has been directly charged with Taylor’s death. Former detective Brett Hankison, one of the officers who opened fire on the night of the raid, is charged with three counts of first-class threats for allegedly shooting blindly into the apartment, which endangered a neighboring family of three, according to ‘ a statement from September 2020. from Attorney General Daniel Cameron. He pleaded not guilty.
Joshua Jaynes, who wrote the warrant for the raid, was fired in January. His lawyer has said he intends to appeal the termination. Another detective involved in the raid, Myles Cosgrove, was also released in January.
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