Louisville cop wounded in Breonna Taylor case defends actions, slams mayor in mass email to police
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – A Louisville police officer who was wounded during the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor emailed more than 1,000 of his colleagues Tuesday, criticizing Mayor Greg Fischer and others while defending his actions that March night.
In the six-paragraph email, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly apologized to his fellow officers and their families and blamed the mayor as well as Public Safety Chief Amy Hess and former Louisville Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad for failing “all of us in epic proportions for their own gain and to cover their asses.”
“You DO NOT DESERVE to be in this position,” he wrote. “The position that allows thugs to get in your face and yell, curse and degrade you. Throw bricks bottles and urine on you and expect you to do nothing.”
He also warned that the department and the FBI, which he said “aren’t cops,” would open civil rights investigations against officers for making a mistake during a stressful time.
“Your civil rights mean nothing,” he wrote, “but the criminal has total autonomy.”
“Regardless of the outcome (of the Kentucky attorney general's decision) today or Wednesday, I know we did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night,” Mattingly wrote to his colleagues. “It’s sad how the good guys are demonized, and the criminals are canonized.”
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The email was first reported on Twitter by Vice News correspondent Roberto Aram Ferdman. Kent Wicker, an attorney for Mattingly, confirmed to The Louisville Courier Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the email was sent by his client.
“Sgt. Mattingly sent an email to his colleagues last evening expressing his support for them and their work in these difficult times,” Wicker said. “As you know, he was shot and severely wounded during the serving of this search warrant. Like our entire community, he is hopeful this process moves forward quickly and that his fellow officers and the people of Louisville remain safe.”
Fischer’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During a press conference Tuesday morning to discuss the installation of police barricades in downtown Louisville, LMPD Interim Chief Robert Schroeder said it was “premature” to talk about the email.
“It’s something developing, so we’ll have something out later,” he said.
An LMPD spokesman said the department did not release the email but is aware of it “and the matter is under review.”
Sam Aguiar, one of the attorneys for Taylor's family, called the email another example of the problems within the city's police department.
"An unarmed Black woman whose home never should've been raided was shot (five) times and died at the hands of Mattingly and his colleagues," Aguiar said.
"Mattingly gets to go home to his family every day. Then they covered it up. So, respectfully, Mattingly's definition of 'moral' and 'ethical' actions are insulting to anyone with common decency. His characterization of protesters as 'thugs' is reprehensible. This department has instilled a culture which needs to be changed."
Mattingly is one of three officers, along with detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison, who fired their weapons while executing a search warrant on Taylor’s apartment in the early hours of March 13.
Taylor was killed by police during the botched raid, while Mattingly, a 20-year veteran of the force, was shot in the thigh and required surgery.
Taylor’s death has sparked widespread outrage and daily protests calling for racial justice and for the officers involved in her killing to face criminal charges.
While Mattingly and Cosgrove remain on administrative leave, Hankison was fired in June. He is contesting the decision.
The case, meanwhile, is the subject of a criminal investigation by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office, a civil rights investigation by the FBI and an internal LMPD investigation. The attorney general’s decision could come as soon as this week.
More: Six Louisville cops under internal investigation for roles in fatal Breonna Taylor search
“I wish I were there with you leading the charge,” Mattingly said in closing. “I’ll be praying for your safety. Remember you are just a pawn in the Mayors political game. I’m proof they do not care about you or your family, and you are replaceable. Stay safe and do the right thing. YOU ARE LOVED AND SUPPORTED by most of the community. Now go be the Warriors you are, but please be safe! None of these “peaceful” protesters are worth your career or freedom. God speed boys and girls.”
Contributing: Darcy Costello, Louisville Courier Journal
Follow reporter Jonathan Bullington on Twitter: @jrbullington
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This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Breonna Taylor case: Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly defends actions in email
