Louisville Metro Police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly gave his first public interview this week about the March 13 raid that ended in the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black EMT. He spoke with Michael Strahan of ABC’s “Good Morning America” and with the Louisville Courier Journal.
Mattingly was one of the officers who fired during the raid. According to ABC News, he said Taylor would still be alive if officers had not given the people inside time to answer the door. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, fired a shot at the plainclothes officers as they entered the apartment.
“We would’ve either served the no-knock warrant, or we would’ve done the normal thing we do, which is 5 to 10 seconds, to not give people time to formulate a plan,” Mattingly said, describing what he would do differently.
Police have said officers knocked and announced themselves several times before entering. Walker and witnesses have said they did not hear police identify themselves. Mattingly acknowledged it was possible Walker did not hear officers announce who they were.
Mattingly also said that body cameras would have cleared the officers involved. The raid did not turn up drugs or cash. He said he and his family have faced death threats and described himself as a victim of the aftermath. He pushed back on the idea that race played a role, saying officers were relying on what he called “criminal profiling” of the area. He also said the case should not be compared to the deaths of George Floyd or Ahmaud Arbery.
Critics of the interview, including many commentators and activists, pointed out that the raid itself is at the center of the outrage over the case.
Mattingly closed with a message to Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer. “Nobody should ever have to go through what you’re feeling,” he said. He added that he hopes everybody learns something from the tragedy.
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