Breonna Taylor became a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement when she was shot and killed by Louisville police, but the narrative surrounding her death has since changed 180 degrees.
Years later, those who tried to demonize the police were proven wrong when a ruling came out that it was Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who caused her death, not the Louisville police.
But that didn't stop the officers at the scene from being vilified by celebrities, politicians, media and activists.
That's why Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly is telling Fearless's Jason Whitlock what really happened on Friday, March 13, 2020, calling the outrage following Taylor's death a “racist hoax.”
Mattingly was serving a warrant for a narcotics investigation that night and was initially hailed as a hero for his actions.
“Something happened. I don't know when it happened, but it was pretty sudden,” Mattingly told Whitlock. After the shooting, Mattingly underwent surgery to repair a femoral artery that was severed when Walker shot him.
“We went out that night and they said Jamarcus Glover wasn't here and we should knock and announce it,” Mattingly explains, “and I said, 'OK, sure.' And they said, actually, she's a stocky-built black woman and it's going to take her a little longer to come to the door.”
“After about a minute there was no response, so my lieutenant said, 'Go on, knock on the door.' The intruder knocked on the door, and I was standing to the left of the door when the door opened. The intruder was to the right of the door,” Mattingly continued, noting that the situation inside was strange.
“Usually people give up, hide or run. There's no way they could have two people lying in wait in a hallway. By the time I realize this and aim my gun at them, I see the tip of Kenneth Walker's silver gun and it's too late.”
“Boom, there was a gunshot, I felt a shock in my leg, I shot four times and hid behind the door. The man shot and then immediately ran into the room, leaving Breonna in the hallway. Breonna's feet were over the threshold of the door, so she tried to follow the man into the room, but she fell backwards,” he explained.
“So she stepped into the line of fire and chased the man she left in the hallway,” he added.
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