Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly said Tuesday that Breonna Taylor’s death was not the same as George Floyd’s and had “nothing to do with race.”
“It’s not a race thing like people wanna try to make it to be,” Mattingly said in an exclusive interview with ABC News and the Louisville Courier Journal. “It’s not. This is a point where we were doing our job, we gave too much time when we go in, I get shot, we returned fire.”
WATCH: Jonathan Mattingly, officer who carried out search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s apartment, speaks out exclusively to @ABC and @courierjournal, telling @michaelstrahan: “It’s not a race thing like people wanna try to make it to be.” https://t.co/r865y0X4l3
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 21, 2020
Mattingly and two other officers executed a no-knock warrant on Breonna Taylor’s apartment in March relating to a drug investigation into Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover. Mattingly said he and the other officers knocked multiple times and announced themselves at least three times each before kicking the door down.
However, upon entry, Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker, a licensed gun owner, shot at the officers thinking someone was breaking in. Walker’s shot hit Mattingly. Taylor was killed in the crossfire. (RELATED: Sergeant Involved In Breonna Taylor’s Death Reportedly Defends His Involvement In Alleged Email To Colleagues)
Mattingly said he and the others had no idea that Glover was not there but that Walker was.
Despite the tragic nature of the incident, Mattingly said Taylor’s death is not comparable to that of George Floyd’s.
“This is not relatable to George Floyd. This is nothing like that,” he said. “It’s not Ahmaud Arbery. It’s nothing like it. These are two totally different types of incidences.”
EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Mattingly, officer who carried out search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s apartment, speaks out exclusively to @ABC and @courierjournal, telling @michaelstrahan: “It’s not a race thing like people want to try to make it to be.” https://t.co/BFDU2V6yMI pic.twitter.com/SKvypZkICo
— ABC News (@ABC) October 20, 2020
“This is not us going, hunting somebody down. This is not kneeling on a neck. It’s nothing like that,” he continued.
Sgt. Jon Mattingly, officer who carried out search warrant at Breonna Taylor’s, speaks exclusively to @ABC & @courierjournal; tells @michaelstrahan: “This is the point where we’re doing our job. We return fire. This is not us hunting somebody down, not kneeling on a neck.” pic.twitter.com/xNHkJXj1mV
— Good Morning America (@GMA) October 21, 2020
“We expected that Breonna was going to be there by herself,” he said. “And in my opinion that was a mistake.”
Mattingly said if he could change one thing, he wouldn’t have waited so long to enter the apartment.
“We would have either served the no-knock warrant or we would have done the normal thing we do, which is five to 10 seconds. To not give people time to formulate a plan, not give people time to get their senses so they have an idea of what they’re doing,” Mattingly said. “Because if that had happened … Breonna Taylor would be alive, 100 percent.”
Mattingly and detective Myles Cosgrove were not charged with Taylor’s death, with state Attorney General Daniel Cameron saying the pair was justified in their use of deadly force after Walker fired the first shot. Former LMPD officer Brett Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots that hit and entered a neighboring apartment.