news-queue:

LMPD Sgt. Jon Mattingly confirmed to WAVE 3 News that he sent a strongly-worded email to his department colleagues early Tuesday morning.

In the email, Mattingly, one of three LMPD officers involved in the deadly Breonna Taylor shooting in March, referred to some protesters as thugs, saying they will “throw bricks, bottles and urine” on officers, and will “get in your face and yell, curse and degrade you.”

When LMPD Interim Chief Robert Schroeder was asked about the email at a news conference Tuesday morning, he said, “It’s a little premature to talk about that. It’s something developing, so we’ll have something out later.”

Mattingly and two other narcotics officers fired their guns the night of the Taylor raid, which left the 26-year-old bleeding to death on the floor of her apartment hallway. Her death has sparked more than 100 days of local protests at a time when the country is confronted with a racial reckoning.

Mattingly and detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison were placed on administrative reassignment immediately following the Taylor shooting, per department protocol. Mattingly was shot during the raid but has recovered from his injury. Hankison was later fired for “blindly” shooting 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment from outside of it, according to his termination letter.

As the city braces for Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s announcement of whether to criminally charge the officers involved in Taylor’s death, Mattingly said in his email that it’s “not an us against society, but it is good versus evil.”

In the email, sent just after 2 a.m. Tuesday, Mattingly blasted city and department leadership, calling them “pencil pushers,” but said the intention of his note was to show support for his LMPD colleagues who are bracing for a tumultuous week.

On Monday, LMPD declared a state of emergency, just minutes after announcing it was canceling time-off requests from its officers. Another sign suggesting Cameron’s announcement is imminent was the sight of crews installing concrete barricades in several locations around downtown Louisville on Monday evening. And Tuesday, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer announced his own state of emergency, which includes a ban on on-street parking downtown.

When VICE News reporter Roberto Ferdman was first to tweet screengrabs of Mattingly’s email Tuesday, the comments were packed with strong criticism of Mattingly. But the sergeant, who has never spoken publicly about the case, told WAVE 3 News’ Natalia Martinez that his critics might have a different view if they read the email in its entirety, which you can do below:

“I’m not here to give you a Rah Rah you got this speech. I’m not here to tell you that you signed up to help this community and to keep your head up. I’m here to tell you I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m sorry your families have to go through this. I’m sorry the Mayor, Amy Hess and Chief Conrad failed all of us in epic proportions for their own gain and to cover their asses.\

Read More