Sgt. Mattingly: If We Hadn't Knocked Breonna Taylor Would be Alive

In an interview Wednesday with ABC's "Good Morning America," Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly of the Louisville Metro Police Department said if his team had executed a no-knock drug warrant on Breonna Taylor's apartment—as it was authorized to do—she would still be alive.

Mattingly said he banged on the door repeatedly while yelling "police." And that once his commanding officer gave the order to breach the door, he and the other officers yelled "police," as they rammed open the door.

According to Mattingly, once he entered the dark apartment, he saw two figures about "20 to 25 feet away."

One of the figures was holding a handgun. "It was pushed out toward me with two hands," Mattingly said.

Mattingly said he was focused on the tip of the gun when it fired and he felt burning in his leg. He and two other officers returned fire. Killing Taylor, 26. Mattingly said the shooting lasted about 12 seconds.

Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired the shot. He says he never heard the officers yell "police."

The shooting of Taylor has sparked protests and rioting in Louisville and beyond, as activists and the family have demanded that Mattingly and the other officers be prosecuted for murder. Mattingly said his family is in hiding because of threats.

The city paid Taylor's family $12 million in settlement of a lawsuit.

A grand jury declined to prosecute Mattingly and another officer who shot Taylor. A third officer faces charges of endangering people in another apartment by shots fired during the incident.