Filmmaker Tyler Perry has donated $100K to help cover the legal costs of Kenneth Walker, who is being sued by one of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of his girlfriend, Breonna Taylor. Perry made the donation on Sunday in four payments to a GoFundMe page that was launched last month to raise funds to help Walker in his legal battle against Jonathan Mattingly, who is suing him for assault, battery, and emotional distress, according to Deadline.
Walker is accused of shooting Mattingly in the leg during a botched raid that took place in March. At the time of the incident, Taylor, who was a 26-year-old Black woman, was shot and killed in her apartment by three Louisville police officers who had a no-knock warrant and forced entry into her residence in connection with a drug case.
Walker claimed he did not hear the officers identify themselves and fired a warning shot thinking they were intruders. During the shootout, Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove shot Taylor a combined six times. A grand jury did not press any charges against them in September and only former Officer Brett Hankison, who was fired, ended up charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into Taylor's neighbors' homes during the raid
"The raid that killed Breonna Taylor was poorly conceived, nightmarishly executed, and hastily covered-up," the GoFundMe page reads. "The subsequent grand jury proceedings were farcical and staged. Daniel Cameron’s statements were disingenuous, at best. Jon Mattingly’s lawsuit is the nearly-unbelievable next step in this ongoing mockery of justice."
As of Monday morning, over $103,000 had been raised.