Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, filed a lawsuit against the Louisville Metro Police accusing the department of police misconduct, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports.
According to CNN, the 28-year-old says he lives in “constant fear” since he says he was wrongfully arrested after allegedly shooting one of the officers who shot and killed Taylor while executing a no-knock search warrant.
In the $10.5 million lawsuit, Walker claimed that he was being maliciously prosecuted for firing a single shot and allegedly shooting Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh, apparently nearly severing his femoral artery.
“The charges brought against me were meant to silence me and cover up Breonna’s murder,” Walker said Tuesday, according to CNN. “I am a legal gun owner and I would never knowingly shoot a police officer.”
The lawsuit claims that “stand your ground” law justifies Walker’s actions on the night that Taylor was killed.
“Kenny was clearly acting in self-defense, that he had every right to do, and they knew that, yet they charged him anyway because if he’s convicted it justifies their actions,” his attorney, Steven Romines, said.
Walker is seeking immunity from prosecution under the Stand Your Ground law. Following Taylor’s death, Walker was charged with first-degree assault and attempted murder of an officer. A judge dismissed those charges without prejudice, meaning that the charges could be brought up again.
Walker is also seeking monetary damages from the city and the police department for assault, battery, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, abuse of process and negligence.
“Kenny Walker talks about the fear that he has as a young Black man that has multiplied times a thousand since this incident,” Romines said. “They could reindict him at any time and show up at his house and take him into custody.”