An officer involved in the shooting that killed Breonna Taylor emailed over 1,000 of his fellow cops to defend his actions that night in March and criticize the mayor for failing “all of us in epic proportions for their own gain and to cover their asses.”
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly sent the angry email Tuesday morning and, in six-paragraphs, told his fellow cops, “Your civil rights mean nothing, but the criminal has total autonomy.”
“You DO NOT DESERVE to be in this position,” he wrote. “The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell, curse and degrade you. Throw bricks, bottles, and urine on you and expect you to do nothing.”
According to VICE News, he warned officers in the email that the department and the FBI would open civil rights investigations against cops who make “mistakes during a stressful time.”
He also referred to the FBI as “not cops” and “would piss their pants if they had to hold the line.”
Mattingly is one of the three officers who have yet to be arrested for the death of Breonna Taylor. He was shot in the thigh and required surgery after the shooting.
Kent Wicker, an attorney for Mattingly, confirmed to The Courier-Journal that his client sent the email.
“Sgt. Mattingly sent an email to his colleagues last evening expressing his support for them and their work in these difficult times,” Wicker said. “As you know, he was shot and severely wounded during the serving of this search warrant. Like our entire community, he is hopeful this process moves forward quickly and that his fellow officers and the people of Louisville remain safe.”
An attorney for Breonna Taylor’s family said in a statement that the email is an example of the problems with the Louisville police department.
“An unarmed Black woman whose home never should’ve been raided was shot (five) times and died at the hands of Mattingly and his colleagues,” attorney Sam Aguiar said.
“Mattingly gets to go home to his family every day. Then they covered it up. So, respectfully, Mattingly’s definition of ‘moral’ and ‘ethical’ actions are insulting to anyone with common decency. His characterization of protesters as ‘thugs’ is reprehensible. This department has instilled a culture which needs to be changed.”
New: LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly (who is being investigated as part of Breonna Taylor’s case) sent an email to around 1,000 officers at 2am that calls protestors thugs, complains about the government enforcing civil rights violations, and claims this is "good versus evil” pic.twitter.com/VcuyPDP790
— Roberto Aram Ferdman (@robferdman) September 22, 2020
