Louisville police officer alleges discrimination over his opinion on Breonna Taylor’s killing
FILE - Police and protesters converge during a demonstration over the death of Breonna Taylor’s, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky police officer who was shot in 2020 during protests over Breonna Taylor’s death is suing his department, alleging his superiors discriminated against him after he expressed his opinion about Taylor’s shooting.
Louisville Officer Robinson Desroches alleges in the lawsuit that Black officers like himself “who discuss race or criticize their experience related to race are vilified as betraying ‘the thin blue line.’”
In the lawsuit filed in Jefferson County on Monday, Desroches alleges that some leaders tried to push him out of the department after he “firmly stated that the true reason he was shot in the line of duty is ‘because LMPD officers killed Breonna Taylor.’” He says one commander criticized his long rehabilitation after he was seriously wounded in the shooting.
Louisville Police declined to comment on the lawsuit Tuesday, but said in a statement that the department “strives to create an inclusive environment where employees feel welcomed, valued, and respected. The department takes seriously any accusations of harassment and/or discrimination.”
“When employees injured in the line of duty are ready to return to work, LMPD strives to provide reasonable accommodations to place the employee in alternative roles in the department until they are cleared by a doctor to return to full duty,” the LMPD statement said.
The two officers who shot and killed Taylor in her home during a raid on March 13, 2020, left the department years ago and were not charged with any crimes. Federal and state prosecutors have said Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove were justified in returning fire after Taylor’s boyfriend grabbed a handgun and shot Mattingly in the leg. Taylor’s boyfriend said he mistook the police for an intruder breaking in after midnight. Two other former Louisville officers are accused in federal court of falsifying the Taylor warrant.
Desroches remains a Louisville police officer but is on workers compensation leave for his physical and mental health, his attorney Sara Collins said Tuesday.
Desroches and another officer were shot during intense street protests in September 2020. The unrest occurred after former Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron announced that a grand jury had declined to indict the officers who shot Taylor during a deadly police raid earlier that year.
Desroches was shot in the stomach, and the bullet traveled close to his spine. It took over a year before he was able to return to work on light duty, the lawsuit says. The other officer was not seriously wounded.
When Desroches returned to duty, he was assigned to the recruitment department and superiors later approached him about taking on a role doing speaking engagements for media coverage.
Desroches says in the lawsuit that he believes the department wanted to use his experience as as Black officer who was shot during the 2020 protests to “improve LMPD’s publicity and recruitment efforts.”
He declined the position, saying he “did not want his image and story twisted to portray a false narrative about LMPD,” since he held some negative views about the department, the lawsuit says.
Desroches said his superiors soured on him after that, and he was not offered a recruiting position upon returning to full-time status, according to the suit. He alleges he also was told by a command staffer last year that “there was a target on his back,” the suit says.
The man who shot Desroches, Larynzo Johnson, pleaded guilty in 2022 to two counts of assault, along with dozens of counts of endangerment. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Desroches is seeking punitive and compensatory damages from the Louisville Police department.