Publisher Kills Distribution of Cop's Book Daring to Tell the Other Side of Breonna Taylor Tragedy
There are two sides to every story — unless of course you’re a white police officer with a potentially inconvenient account of the shooting death of a black woman that the institutional left long ago connected to institutional racism.
Simon & Schuster has announced it will not distribute a book authored by one of the three Louisville police officers involved in the drug raid that left 26-year-old Breonna Taylor dead in a crossfire of bullets last winter.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was nearly killed during the service of the drug warrant and fired at least one of the bullets that hit Taylor, has authored a book about his experiences entering Taylor’s apartment in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020.
Mattingly entered the apartment with Louisville Metro Police Department Detectives Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, and the rest is history — or so we’re led to believe.
“The Fight for Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy,” tells Mattingly’s side of the deadly encounter, which saw him shot in the leg by Taylor’s then-boyfriend Kenneth Walker. Mattingly’s femoral artery was severed and he could have died.
Being that he survived, and his encounter with Walker and Taylor still dominates news, he apparently decided to explain what he says happened.
His book is being published by Post Hill Press, which tends to give voices to conservatives and others whose perspectives are often ignored by larger publishers.
The New York Times reported that despite the fact Simon & Schuster often distributes books printed by the small, independent publisher, the company won’t go near Mattingly and his side of the story. Simon & Schuster issued a statement Friday inferring it was caught off-guard by news it was set to distribute the officer’s book, and announced it will steer clear of his account entirely.
“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 company wrote.
“We have subsequently decided not to be involved in the distribution of this book.”
— Simon & Schuster (@simonschuster) April 16, 2021
Post Hill Press issued a statement to The Times in defense of Mattingly’s book.
“In the case of Sgt Mattingly, the mainstream media narrative has been entirely one-sided related to this story and we feel that he deserves to have his account of the tragic events heard publicly, as well,” Post Hill Press spokeswoman Kelsey Merritt told The Times. “Post Hill Press is standing behind our decision to publish his story.”
No matter how tragic Taylor’s death was, or how many social justice slogans her untimely passing might continue to generate, Mattingly’s account deserves to be heard — especially in a country where those who control information no longer value details that might exculpate others who have been deemed by the left as part of a colonial system existing solely to keep minority Americans downtrodden.
Mattingly was cleared last September of any wrongdoing in the shooting death of Taylor, WLKY-TV reported. The cop, by all accounts, is not guilty of any crimes.
Only five people were in Taylor’s residence on the evening she died, according to The Courier-Journal. One of them, Taylor, will never be able to offer her account of the story. But another person with intimate knowledge of her death wants to tell the world, in apparent great detail, what he says happened.
Simon & Schuster would prefer to steer clear of those details.
Post Hill Press issued a statement to The Associated Press Friday, saying it would move forward with publishing the book without the help of Simon & Schuster.
“Post Hill Press continues to move forward with plans to publish Sgt. Mattingly’s book,” the statement said. “His story is important and it deserves to be heard by the public at large. We feel strongly that an open dialogue is essential to shining a light on the challenging issues our country is facing.”
The publisher declined to comment to The AP on whether it would distribute the book itself or find another distributor.
The Western Journal reached out to Simon and Schuster for comment, but did not hear back before publication.
In censoring Mattingly, the literary giant is suppressing a potentially important narrative in a story that continues to shape the events that affect policing, public safety and policy in the country.
Perhaps Mattingly will find another distributor, as GOP Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri recently did after he was canceled by Simon & Schuster. For now, the distributor and publisher is telling us all we don’t need to hear one side of an important story — and many of us won’t, if Simon & Schuster has anything to do with it.
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