A judge in Kentucky has permanently dismissed criminal charges against Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, for firing a gun at police officers during a botched 2020 police raid that killed Taylor in her home. Walker cannot be recharged for the crimes following the ruling.
Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge Olu Stevens on Monday granted local prosecutors’ motion to dismiss the charges and ordered the criminal case against Kenneth Walker III permanently closed.
Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician (EMT) who had been on the frontlines battling the coronavirus, was shot and killed shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020, by Louisville Metro Police Department officers executing a drug warrant. When the officers used a battering ram to break down the door, Walker allegedly fired one shot, striking Louisville Metro Police Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly in the leg and prompting a barrage of return gunfire from the officers.
Walker was initially charged with assault and attempted murder.
The FBI is still investigating. The one-year anniversary of Taylor’s death is this weekend.
