Louisville to Pay $2 Million to Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend
Louisville Metro reached a $2 million settlement with Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, per The Courier Journal. The officers involved in the shooting were released from the settlement without requirement to pay. Walker is still awaiting a decision in a second lawsuit he filed.
At the time of Taylor’s shooting, Walker was charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer. Walker mistook former Louisville Metro Police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly for an intruder and shot him in the leg when the officers burst through his door in complete darkness. His charges were dismissed permanently in March 2021.
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However, he filed a state and federal lawsuit seeking damages against the city and the officers who raided Taylor’s apartment.
More on Walker’s lawsuits from The Courier Journal:
Walker’s claims assert his rights were violated when officers obtained and approved the “materially false” search warrant, failed to announce before they entered Taylor’s apartment and used excessive and unreasonable force. He also claims LMPD’s policies, customs and practices led to these violations.
Walker’s civil suits named Goodlett, former detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany for their purported role in falsifying and covering up the bad information used to obtain the warrant. All three were charged with federal civil rights violations in August.
Mattingly told The Journal he and the other officers named in the lawsuits were released from having to pay in the settlement, including LMPD Detective Kelly Goodlett who pleaded guilty to falsifying information to get the search warrant for Taylor’s home.
No other officers faced charges besides former officer Brett Hankison who was charged with violating Taylor’s civil rights and that of her three neighbors who he recklessly shot at from outside the apartment.
Two million is not nearly enough to make up for the trauma Walker endured after he realized his girlfriend was shot to death while officers screamed in his face. There will never be a price good enough to replace that loss. Yet, more settlements come and the former officers go back to their loved ones.
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