‘THE POWER OF ADVOCACY’

Kentucky Prosecutors Dismiss Charges Against Breonna Taylor’s Boyfriend

Kenneth Walker was initially charged with assault and attempted murder of a police officer for firing a shot in self-defense during the March 13 incident.

Kentucky prosecutors have dismissed the charges against EMT worker Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, who was charged for firing a shot in self-defense during a “no-knock” police raid that left Taylor dead on March 13. Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine said Friday that his office will move to dismiss the case against Kenneth Walker, 27, with assault and attempted murder of a police officer after he used his legal firearm to fire a shot during the botched “no-knock” search that resulted in Taylor getting shot eight times in her home. “I believe that additional investigation is necessary,” Wine said.

According to police, plainclothes officers announced themselves and returned gunfire when Taylor’s boyfriend shot at them. A lawsuit filed by Taylor’s family, however, asserts that police scared Taylor’s boyfriend, who believed they were being burglarized, and he responded in self-defense. The shot wounded an officer in the leg—and prompted return fire of more than 20 rounds into the home. In a Friday statement, Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing Taylor's family, said the news of the dropped charges “is a belated victory for justice and a testament to the power of advocacy.” Stating that the charge should have never been filed, Crump said that while Taylor and her boyfriend did “everything right that night police ambushed their home,” Friday's news is the first step toward authorities taking responsibility for their actions.