Kentucky Attorney General Releases Breonna Taylor Grand Jury Tapes

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On Monday a Kentucky judge ruled that the charges brought against Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor‘s boyfriend, would be permanently dismissed.

The charges, assault and attempted murder of an officer, were dismissed without prejudice, barring any attempt to charge him in connection to the night of March 13, 2020, when Taylor was shot by police inside of her home, the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

Last year Walker’s life changed when members of the Louisville Metro Police Department stormed Taylor’s apartment, in search of drug paraphernalia. Walker maintains he thought an intruder had broken in when he fired, striking officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. In the exchange, Taylor was struck several times and succumbed to her wounds. Police never recovered any drugs after attempting to conduct the search warrant in connection to an investigation around Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover.

“The charges brought against me were meant to silence me and cover up Breonna’s murder,” Walker told CNN last year.

Walker was arrested on the night of the shooting where he lost so much, including the love of his life.

During an October interview with “CBS This Morning” host Gayle King, Walker explained the confusion and horror he experienced that night.

“It was dead silent in the house,” he explained to King. “And it was 12:00, 1:00 at night, or whatever time. So it was — it’s always quiet. We live in a quiet place. So if somebody was on the other side of the door saying anything, we would hear them.”

“I’m a million percent sure that nobody identified themselves,” he replied as King pressed about his certainty.

“That’s why I grabbed the gun. Didn’t have a clue,” Walker said. “I mean, if it was the police at the door, and they just said, ‘We’re the police,’ me or Breonna didn’t have a reason at all not to open the door to see what they wanted.”

In May 2020 the charges were dropped against Walker, but Jefferson Commonwealth’s Attorney Tom Wine calling for more investigation to determine if criminal charges were warranted, meaning that  Walker would be recharged.

After almost a year of investigations, Wine’s office filed to dismiss the charges with prejudice last week.

“As such, the commonwealth moves the court to amend its prior dismissal of this matter without prejudice to a dismissal with prejudice,” according to the filing signed by Wine and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Ebert Haegele.

Last year Walker filed a $10.5M suit against the city of Louisville, citing police misconduct. Walker said that he walked around in fear everyday since the shooting and argues that he should be protected under the state’s stand your ground law.

In October Mattingly filed a countersuit, claiming that Walker’s actions were “outrageous, intolerable and offends all accepted standards of decency or morality.”

SEE ALSO:

Kentucky Senate Passes Bill Restricting No-Knock Warrants, But Breonna Taylor’s Supporters Say It Doesn’t Go Far Enough

Louisville Police Department Finally Fires Cops Who Shot Breonna Taylor And Sought Reckless Warrant

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