Prosecutors in Louisville, Kentucky say they will drop charges against Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor, who shot at police when they entered Taylor’s home on a “no warning” warrant to search for narcotics at 1 a.m. on March 13.
Police shot and killed Taylor in the incident which is now under FBI investigation.
On Friday, local prosecutors announced that they would wait for the federal investigation to conclude before moving forward with attempted murder charges against Walker for shooting an officer in the leg on the night, reported the New York Times.
From NYT:
Mr. Walker, 27, has contended that he did not know that it was police officers who had been knocking at the door and feared for his life when he grabbed his gun and fired.
“We’re happy that the case is dismissed,” said Mr. Walker’s lawyer, Rob Eggert. “He always said that he didn’t know these were police officers, and they found no drugs in the apartment. None. He was scared for his life and her life.”
The county prosecutor in Louisville, Thomas B. Wine, said he would not rule out the possibility of filing charges against Walker again after the federal investigations are concluded.
Wine did however manage to acknowledge that Walker may not have been viewed fairly by the grand jury that indicted him, since they were not provided with evidence that the defendant acted in self-defense:
“I’ve allowed that for police officers in shooting cases,” Mr. Wine said, “and it should be allowed for civilians.”
You don’t say, Mr. Wine.