LOUISVILLE, Ky. — One of the Louisville police officers involved in the no-knock narcotics raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor defended their actions and slammed protesters as “thugs” in an early Tuesday email to colleagues, a report said.
Louisville Metro Police Department Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, one of three officers who fired his weapon during the March 13 raid, reportedly sent the email to his police colleagues at 2 a.m., ahead of a looming grand jury decision in Taylor’s case, New York Post reported.
Mattingly was wounded by gunfire from Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, Law Officer reported, a fact that is often lost in the ongoing debate.
“Regardless of the outcome today or Wednesday, I know we did the legal, moral, and ethical thing that night,” Mattingly said in the email obtained by VICE. “It’s sad how the good guys are demonized, and criminals are canonized.”
Mattingly, who is on administrative leave, is awaiting news on whether a grand jury will decide to indict him and two other officers, Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove. All three of the officers fired their weapons at the scene.
Hankison is the only officer who has been terminated, Law Officer reported.
From left to right: Sgt. Jon Mattingly, Det. Myles Cosgrove, Det. Brett Hankison
Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was shot and killed by the officers, who were executing a no-knock narcotics search warrant at her apartment. No drugs were located.
However, the Courier-Journal recently published significant details from an internal report written by LMPD after the shooting. It sheds more light on the reasons why they chose to forcibly enter her South End apartment the night she was killed as well as her culpability in the nefarious actions of the primary suspect, Jamarcus Glover.
Mattingly, Cosgrove and Hankison exchanged gunfire with Walker, who opened fire first. He believed the officers were perpetrators, according to reports. Taylor died in her hallway after she was struck five times.
In his email, Mattingly went on to thank his “LMPD family,” and disparaged local elected officials, his police department and the FBI for the investigation. He claimed federal investigators would “piss their pants if they had to hold the line” and don’t understand the stressful nature of the job.
Mattingly also lamented that his fellow officers have had to deal with the outraged protesters.
“You DO NOT DESERVE to be in this position. The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell, curse and degrade you,” he went on.
Mattingly’s attorney, Kent Wicker, confirmed the email’s authenticity to The Daily Beast.
“As you know, Sgt. Mattingly was shot and severely wounded while serving this warrant,” Wicker told the news organization. “Like our entire community, he is hopeful that this process moves forward quickly, and that his fellow officers and the people of Louisville remain safe.”
Louisville is bracing for more protests as the grand jury decision nears. The LMPD tweeted Tuesday morning that it would be limiting vehicle access, traffic and parking in certain parts of downtown as they set up barricades.
Attention: Anyone with upcoming business downtown #LMPD pic.twitter.com/FL37wjGpBj
— LMPD (@LMPD) September 22, 2020
The police department also told officers that all days off and vacation requests would be canceled until further notice, Law Officer reported.
Taylor’s death drove Louisville lawmakers to ban no-knock warrants. Moreover, the city earlier this month announced a $12 million settlement with her family.
