Former boyfriend of Breonna Taylor launches federal suit against Louisville PD

Kenneth Walker, the former boyfriend of Breonna Taylor, is suing the Louisville Metro Police Department, accusing the department of excessive force and breaching his fourth amendment rights, New York Post reports.

According to Walker's lawsuit, the raid which killed his former girlfriend violated his fourth amendment protections against "unreasonable search and seizure." He also alleges that inadequate training and the practice of conducting a raid in the middle of the night created a heightened climate of danger.

The lawsuit was filed with the Western District Court of Kentucky on Friday, one day before the one-year anniversary of the raid.

Walker has also filed a state lawsuit over Taylor's death.

Taylor was killed during a raid on the couple's Louisville apartment in March of last year. The raid was launched after police suspected Walker of running a drug operation through the apartment. No evidence of such an operation was discovered during the raid.

While a no-knock warrant was originally issued for the raid, police were later instructed to knock and announce their arrival prior to entering. Walker, who was sleeping at the time, said that he did not hear the police give warning, and he woke up to the sound of police bursting through the apartment's door.

Believing the raid to be a home invasion, Walker shot at the police officers and wounded one in the leg. Police returned fire, killing Breonna Taylor in the process. Walker had also called police during the raid under the mistaken belief that he was the victim of a criminal home invasion.

Walker was originally charged with first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer, but the charges against him were dropped. A judge dismissed the charged "with prejudice," meaning that he cannot be charged again for the same crimes related to the incident.

None of the police officers involved in the raid have been charged in relation to Taylor's death, although one of the officers, Brett Hankison, was fired from his position the month following the incident. The other two officers were fired in January of this year.