(Photo: Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
A Louisville police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor has filed a civil suit against Taylor’s boyfriend for emotional distress, assault and battery on the night she was killed.
Louisville Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly claims he experienced “severe trauma, mental anguish and emotional distress” because of Kenneth Walker’s actions March 13.
“Walker’s conduct in shooting Mattingly is outrageous, intolerable, and offends all accepted standards of decency and morality,” the lawsuit said, according to CBS News.
Mattingly and two other officers entered Taylor’s apartment seeking evidence in a drug investigation. When officers broke down the front door, Walker fired a shot from the hallway that hit Mattingly. The officers returned fire, killing the 26-year-old Taylor.
A grand jury indicted one officer in relation to the shooting, but no officers were charged in connection with Taylor’s death.
The suit is a counterclaim to a civil complaint Walker filed in September against Louisville police and the city. Walker was initially charged with attempted murder over the shooting, but those charges were later dropped.
Walker’s attorney called Mattingly’s lawsuit a “baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny.”
“Kenny Walker is protected by law under KRS 503.085 and is immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability as he was acting in self defense in his own home,” attorney Steve Romines said, according to CBS News.