The criminal case against Kenneth L. Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend has been permanently dropped. Kentucky Judge Olu Stevens signed the order on March 8, which prevents prosecutors from retrying him for that case again. Walker shot a police officer during the deadly no-knock raid when the police stormed Taylor and Walker’s home, killing Taylor.
According to The Associated Press, prosecutors dismissed an attempted murder charge against Kenneth L. Walker in May, about two months after Taylor’s death. However, prosecutors left open the opportunity to revisit the charge against Walker if new evidence surfaced.
Taylor was fatally shot on March 13, 2020, when officers Jonathan Mattingly, Brett Hankison, and Myles Cosgrove burst through her door with a narcotics warrant wearing plain clothes. She and Walker were sleep when police arrived and knocked down the door. Walker said he thought an intruder was breaking in and he fired a single shot that struck Mattingly in the leg.
While the case was still pending, Tyler Perry donated a $100K to Walker’s defense fund in December. Mattingly sued Walker for assault, battery and emotional distress back in October and has recovered from his wound.
Detective Joshua Jaynes, who secured the warrant for the raid on Taylor’s home, and Detective Cosgrove, who federal and Louisville investigators said fired the shot that killed the 26-year-old Taylor, were dismissed from the Louisville Metro Police Department in January.
Walker and his attorney filed a lawsuit in September asking the court to declare him immune from criminal prosecution because of Kentucky’s stand your ground law. Walker has always claimed that he did not know the people at the door were officers. “I was raised by a good family. I am a legal gun owner, and I would never knowingly shoot a police officer,” Walker previously told The AP.
