Kenneth Walker, Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, has settled with the city of Louisville over the raid that resulted in Taylor’s death in 2020.
TMZ reports that Walker settled both lawsuits filed against the city.
According to his attorneys, Walker will receive $2 million from Louisville for both his state and federal suits against them. Steve Romines, one of Walker’s lawyers, said that Taylor’s death will be something that haunts “Kenny for the rest of his life.”
“He will live with the effects of being put in harm’s way due to a falsified warrant, to being a victim of a hailstorm of gunfire and to suffering the unimaginable and horrific death of Breonna Taylor,” Romines added, TMZ reports.
The city of Louisville also paid a $12 million settlement to Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, in September 2020, CBS News reports.
In his lawsuits, Walker claimed that the police violated his rights by not announcing themselves prior to bursting into his and Taylor’s home. He also argued that they used excessive force while in the residence by shooting Taylor, TMZ reports.
It is a point of controversy whether the cops knocked or not prior to entering the home.
The Louisville PD officers stand firm in their belief that they knocked and announced themselves several times before entering. They say Walker opened fire, which is what made the raid go left. After one officer was shot by Walker, they shot back and killed Taylor.
For the last two years, Walker said he didn’t hear anything and was protecting himself and Taylor while using his firearm.
Unfortunately, none of the officers involved in the incident have been criminally charged for their participation in Taylor’s death. They’ve only been reprimanded for their conduct related to the case.
According to CBS News, Walker’s attorneys shared Monday that part of the settlement will be used to set up a scholarship fund for law school students interested in practicing civil rights law. Another amount will be donated to the Center for Innovations in Community Safety, a police and community reform center at Georgetown Law School.