Cop Who Fired Shots At Breonna Taylor Is Writing A Book About Her Killing
A Louisville police officer who fired shots on the night of Breonna Taylor’s killing is writing a book about the incident.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was one of three officers who entered Taylor and Kenneth Walker’s apartment as part of a ‘no-knock’ raid in March last year. After Walker shot him in self-defence, unaware he was a cop, Mattingly and former detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove opened fire and fatally shot Taylor.
Cosgrove and Hankison were both fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department, with the latter charged with three counts of felony wanton endangerment. Mattingly wasn’t charged nor punished, and cleared of any policy violations. Now, he’s writing a book about the night of Taylor’s death and subsequent fallout.
The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy was originally set to be distributed by Simon & Schuster, however those plans have been scrapped. It will be published by Tennessee-based Post Hill Press later this year, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Post Hill Press deals in ‘pop culture, business, self-help, health, current events, Christian, and conservative political books’ which are usually distributed by Simon & Schuster.
However, as per the MailOnline, a statement read: ‘Like much of the American public, earlier today Simon & Schuster learned of plans by distribution client Post Hill Press to publish a book by Jonathan Mattingly. We have subsequently decided not be involved in the distribution of this book.’
8 months agoThe book been criticised across social media, with Kentucky Democrat Rep. Attica Scott tweeting: ‘Stay focused, y’all. People love to profit off of Black pain and tragedy. It sells.’
Others took aim at Simon & Schuster, with R. Eric Thomas writing: ‘I’m glad Simon & Schuster is distancing from the disgusting Mattingly book but absolutely f*ck off with this ‘we found out when you did’. You’re a corporation in a professional relationship with a troll publisher. You didn’t find this information out on Twitter.’
Taylor’s death, alongside George Floyd’s and others, sparked widespread Black Lives Matter protests against racial injustice and police brutality.
In an earlier interview, Mattingly said: ‘This had nothing to do with race. Nothing at all… because this is not relatable to George Floyd. This is nothing like that. It’s not Ahmaud Arbery. It’s nothing like it. These are two totally different types of incidences. It’s not a race thing like people wanna try to make it to be. It’s not.’
He added: ‘This is not us going, hunting somebody down. This is not kneeling on a neck. It’s nothing like that.’
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Topics: News, Breonna Taylor, Louisville, Now, US
