Sgt. Mike Nobles, of the Louisville Metro Police Department, testified for the prosecution about his part in the raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment.
They met at a nearby church to wait until the primary subject of the investigation, Jamarcus Glover, was arrested elsewhere.
After warrants were executed on Elliott Ave, Nobles and his team went to Taylor’s apartment complex and approached her door.
Nobles was on the right side of the door, Jonathan Mattingly was on the left side of the door and Myles Cosgrove was in the middle.
Officers knocked “four or five times” and announced “police,” he said.
A man from the floor above came out and told officers to leave, Nobles said. It took Hankison and Lt. Shawn Hoover’s attention off the door, so they could deal with the man upstairs.
Nobles rammed the door three times and it flew open, he said.
“As soon as it opened, Sgt. Mattingly took half a step inside… and he started yelling no, no, no, and took a shot to the groin. He stepped back and started to fire,” he said.
It happened so fast Nobles didn’t even have time to draw his pistol, and he never identified a target, he said.
The officers administered first aid to Mattingly and took him to the ambulance.
Nobles went to the hospital for about an hour, but then was asked to go to the public integrity unit to give a statement.
Nobles said he never saw Hankison fire his weapon, and does not recall if he was with them at the door. On cross examination, Nobles told defense attorney Stewart Mathews that he had worked with Hankison for years and was a friend.
Nobles was told at the briefing that a female and a younger sibling could be in the apartment, and it was where Jamarcus Glover stayed.
The difference between a knock and announce and a no-knock search warrant is only about 15 seconds, Nobles told the jury, however, they waited for two to three minutes at Taylor’s apartment because of the upstairs neighbor yelling at them.
Nobles did hear someone inside the apartment say “who is it,” he said.
They yelled ��police” and banged on the door again, he said, before it was broken down.
Hankison was watching him ram the door, and at some point said hurry up and get the door open.
Nobles never was able to look down the hallway into the apartment since he stepped out of the way when the door opened.
Mattingly fired first and Cosgrove fired next, he said.
Nobles did not know where Hankison was at this time.
At one point he heard someone say “long gun,” and tried to take shelter under the stairs.
It seemed like “an eternity” from the time when Nobles hit the door to the time the shooting stopped.
Mattingly was one of Noble’s best friends, he testified.
Nobles did see Hankison briefly in the ER, he said.
There was a bullet in Mattingly’s wallet when it was photographed, Nobles said.