The Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) sergeant who was involved in the deadly botched raid at Breonna Taylor’s apartment is planning to retire. According to WLKY, Officer Beth Ruoff revealed that Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly will retire on June 1, but said that date could change.
Mattingly was one of three officers who were involved in Taylor’s death. During the raid, the sergeant was shot in the leg by Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, after he fired a shot to scare off intruders. Walker was immediately arrested and charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but those charges were later dropped.
The two other cops who were involved in the shooting — Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison — were let go by the department. Hankison is the only officer who was charged relating to the shooting, but only for blindly firing into the apartments of Taylor’s neighbors.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Mattingly would be writing a book about the deadly shooting. “The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy” was originally set to be released this fall. After news of the book sparked backlash, publishing company Simon & Schuster announced that they would not be involved with the book’s distribution.
However, the Post Hill Press announced that they would continue with their publishing process. “Post Hill Press continues to move forward with plans to publish Sgt. Mattingly’s book,” the independent publisher wrote in a statement. “His story is important, and it deserves to be heard by the public at large. We feel strongly that an open dialogue is essential to shine a light on the challenging issues our country is facing.”
Earlier this week, the Justice Department announced that they will conduct an investigation into the practices of the LMPD, following Taylor’s death, to “assess whether (LMPD) engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved in peaceful expressive activities.”