Charges of attempted murder of a police officer were dismissed Friday in the case of Kenneth Walker, the 27-year-old man who fired his gun at a police officer during a botched no-knock raid based on a lie.
The three Louisville Metro police officers were all in plainclothes when they raided the home of Breonna Taylor at 12:40 p.m. on March 13. Walker and neighbors say the cops never announced themselves as cops but police claim they did.
Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Wine announced his decision to dismiss the charges during a press conference Friday.
According to WAVE 3 News:
During Friday’s teleconference, Wine played several audio recordings of Walker describing what happened on the night of March 13. Walker said there were several bangs on the door, and when he and Taylor got out of bed to see who was there, he said the door was being rammed open.
That’s when Walker fired one shot, he said, prompting a barrage of return gunfire, leaving Taylor dead on the floor of her hallway. She was 26 years old.
“All of a sudden there’s a whole lot of shots,” Walker said. “We both dropped to the ground and (my) gun fell. There’s the police and there’s a lot of yelling and stuff. They’re just shooting and we’re both on the ground, and when all the shots stop … she’s bleeding.”
Walker said he tried to shoot downward toward the ground.
“I don’t need to kill anybody if I can just get you out of here,” he said.
Louisville cops are probably not happy with the decision because the police union president, Ryan Nichols, released the following statement two weeks after the shooting after a judge released Walker to house arrest.
Just one week ago, this man violently attacked our officers and was charged with attempted murder after shooting a sergeant! Not only is he a threat to the men and women of law enforcement, but he also poses a significant danger to the community we protect!
LMPD officers put their lives on the line everyday protecting the citizens of this community. Judge Stevens’ actions are a slap in the face to everyone wearing a badge. His actions place our community at risk of further violence!
Wise played several clips of police interrogating Walker during the press conference which can be viewed below. In one clip, Walker tells police they heard loud banging on the door before they broke in. He said he called 911 because he did not think they were cops. Wise has not released that 911 call.
