Kenneth Walker, boyfriend of the late Breonna Taylor, filed a federal lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police Department on Friday (March 12), the day before the one-year anniversary of Taylor’s death.
As ABC News reported, the suit — which names Louisville, the Jefferson County Metro government and officers Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and Jonathan Mattingly — accuses the police department of violating his rights to the Fourth Amendment, which prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. It alleges the cops failed to announce they were police, used excessive force against him and unnecessarily carried out the warrant — which he says was based off false reports — at night.
Additionally, Walker claims the cops involved in Taylor’s shooting did not coordinate with Louisville Metro Police SWAT team, who is responsible for executing no-knock warrants.
“This is a very important lawsuit to vindicate Kenneth Walker’s constitutional rights under the U.S. Constitution,” said Cliff Sloan, the Georgetown University Law Center professor representing Walker. “We are seeking to ensure that there is justice and accountability for the tragic, and unjustified police assault on Kenneth Walker and killing of Breonna Taylor.”
Walker was present when cops using a no-knock warrant raided Taylor’s home in search of her ex-boyfriend, who they believed was shipping drugs to the address. He fired a warning shot, but the officers — who claimed they disclosed their identities — returned the gunfire, killing Taylor in the process. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer in the raid, but he maintained he acted in self-defense.
Walker is seeking punitive damages and compensation for the “mental anguish, emotional distress, trauma, humiliation, embarrassment and reputational harm” he endured after Taylor’s death.
His suit comes months after he filed a state lawsuit against the city of Louisville and the LMPD. In that particular complaint, he sought “unspecified monetary damages from the city and Louisville Metro Police for assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and negligence.” He also requested his exemption from the prosecution related to his attempted murder charge — which was permanently dismissed last week.