An officer who shot Breonna Taylor is publishing a book, but Simon & Schuster now says they won't distribute it

• One of the police officers who fired shots at Breonna Taylor is writing a book about the experience.
• Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, 48, has a deal with the Post Hill Press, a conservative political book publisher.
• Mattingly was not charged in Taylor's death and once sued Taylor's boyfriend for emotional distress.

A Louisville police officer who shot Breonna Taylor is writing a book about the incident, according to a report from the Courier Journal.

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, 48, is in the process of writing "The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy," for the Post Hill Press, a publishing company printing in the "categories of pop culture, business, self-help, health, current events, Christian, and conservative political books."

The Courier Journal learned Mattingly is writing the book after he messaged the publication for permission to use a staff photograph of protests stemming from Taylor's death.

The book was initially to be distributed by publishing giant Simon & Schuster, but they company has since decided not to work on the book.

"Like much of the American public, earlier today Simon & Schuster learned of plans by distribution client Post Hill Press to publish a book by Jonathan Mattingly," the publisher said in a statement to The New York Times. "We have subsequently decided not be involved in the distribution of this book."

Taylor, a 26-year-old EMT, was sleeping in her bedroom in March 2020 when plainclothes officers executed a search warrant and broke into her apartment. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, said the officers did not announce themselves at the door, leading him to fire a warning shot that hit Mattingly in the leg. In retaliation, the officers fired 32 shots into the apartment. Six bullets hit Taylor amid the police gunfire, killing her.

Taylor's death spurred months of protests around the US calling for police reform, defunding, and more.

Mattingly later filed a lawsuit against Walker for emotional distress, assault, and battery stemming from his injury

Mattingly sent a diatribe to his fellow Louisville Police Officers in September justifying the results of the search warrant and complaining about the backlash the department received after Taylor's death at the hands of the police.

"I know we did the legal, moral and ethical thing that night,"he said in the email. "It's sad how the good guys are demonized, and the criminals are canonized."

Mattingly was never criminally charged or disciplined over his role in the case, but recently received a reprimand for the email. He continues to serve as a member of the Louisville Police Department.