Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Louisville Police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot during the raid at Breonna Taylor's home on March 13 that left her dead, filed a countersuit against her boyfriend Thursday.
Mattingly was shot in the leg as police broke into Taylor's apartment while executing a no-search warrant. Taylor, a paramedic, was shot and killed by police though he was not the target of the investigation. She was with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker at the time.
Walker said in his lawsuit against the police department that police broke into the apartment unannounced and he fired a shot in self-defense.
"Walker did intentionally shoot Mattingly or acted recklessly in firing his pistol in the direction of the police officers who were serving a search warrant," Mattingly's lawsuit said.
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Taylor's death has been one of the cases cited in social justice rallies around the country sparked by the police-involved death of George Floyd in Minneapolis this summer.
"Mattingly was shot and nearly killed by Kenneth Walker," Mattingly's attorney Kent Wicker said. "He's entitled to, and should, use the legal process to seek a remedy for the injury that Walker has caused him."
Steve Romines, Walker's lawyer, said the countersuit was another attempt by the police to shift the blame for Taylor's death.
"This is the latest in a cycle of police aggression, deflection of responsibility and obstruction of the facts," Romines said. "The counterclaim just brings it full circle. If Kenny can be sued for defending himself, make no mistake, all lawful gun owners' rights are at risk. And that should scare everyone. We intend to defend Kenny -- once again -- from baseless charges intended to harm, intimidate and cover up the events of March 13, 2020."
