Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was present in her Louisville apartment on the night of March 13, 2020, when police officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) executed a no-knock warrant as part of a drug investigation. Mistaking the unannounced entry for an intrusion, Walker fired a single warning shot from his legally owned handgun, striking Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. This initial act of self-defense, rooted in his belief that he and Taylor were in danger, set off a chaotic exchange of gunfire, with officers Mattingly, Myles Cosgrove, and Brett Hankison returning fire, discharging a total of 32 rounds into the apartment. Walker’s decision to shoot, while understandable given the lack of clear police identification, inadvertently escalated the situation, creating a volatile environment where further violence became almost inevitable.

The rapid response from the officers, particularly Brett Hankison, who fired 10 rounds blindly through a covered window and sliding glass door, introduced significant risk into an already tense encounter. None of Hankison’s bullets struck Taylor directly, but the errant shots penetrated the walls of the apartment, endangering neighboring residents and adding to the indiscriminate nature of the gunfire. The official investigation determined that Cosgrove’s bullet was the fatal shot that killed Taylor, yet Hankison’s reckless firing contributed to the overall danger. The possibility that an errant bullet from Hankison could have indirectly contributed to Taylor’s death remains a point of contention, as the chaotic volley of shots made it difficult to pinpoint the exact sequence of events, raising questions about whether Walker’s initial shot indirectly triggered the lethal outcome.

The interplay between Walker’s action and Hankison’s response highlights a tragic cascade of events where misjudgment and excessive force converged. Walker’s shot, intended as a defensive measure, wounded Mattingly and prompted the officers’ return fire, which included Hankison’s unjustified and poorly aimed barrage. Critics argue that the police’s failure to announce themselves, combined with Hankison’s violation of use-of-force protocols, created a scenario where Taylor’s death was a foreseeable consequence of the raid’s mishandling. While Walker was not charged with her death, the incident underscores how his split-second decision, though legally defensible, may have contributed to the circumstances that led to the fatal errant bullet, fueling ongoing debates about accountability, police tactics, and the need for reform in such operations.