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Simon & Schuster has scrapped its plans to distribute a book written by one of the Louisville police officers who shot Breonna Taylor, after news of its publication ignited widespread criticism. 

Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was not charged over his involvement in the botched narcotics raid that killed the 26-year-old Black woman last March. His plans to publish a book about the case were 

 Thursday by the Louisville Courier-Journal, which it said learned of them after he contacted a staff photographer seeking to use a photo from 

The book will be titled "The Fight For Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy" and is set to be released in the fall, the Courier-Journal reported. 

, a Tennessee-based company that says it focuses on "pop culture, business, self-help, health, current events, Christian, and conservative political books." Some of its high-profile clients include conservative commentator 

A publicist for Post Hill Press told the 

 in a statement that the publishing house supports its authors' free speech rights and that Mattingly "deserves to have his account of the tragic events heard publicly." 

But news of the book deal angered scores of critics, who said they viewed it as an attempt to seek fame and profit off of Taylor's name. 

"People love to profit off of Black pain and tragedy. It sells," 

 urging the company to cancel its distribution deal has garnered more than 34,000 signatures.

The company had suggested earlier on Thursday that it could not refuse Post Hill titles, according to the AP, but reversed course that night. 

"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," it said in a 

. "We have subsequently decided not to be involved in the distribution of this book." 

Post Hill Press is moving forward with its plans to publish the book, a publicist confirmed to NPR over email on Friday morning. 

"His story is important and it deserves to be heard by the public at large," she wrote. "We feel strongly that an open dialogue is essential to shining a light on the challenging issues our country is facing." 

Mattingly was one of two officers that fired into Taylor's apartment in the early morning hours of March 13, 2020. Taylor — whose name has since become a rallying cry at protests against police brutality and racial injustice — was not a target of the fatal raid, and the suspect police were searching for was not present. None of the officers involved have been directly charged over Taylor's death.

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a warning shot after mistaking the entering officers for intruders. It struck Mattingly in the leg, at which point he and then-detective Myles Cosgrove returned fire. 

The FBI later determined that Mattingly had fired six times. Cosgrove fired 16, they said, including the shot that killed Taylor. A grand jury 

 against the two last fall, with Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron saying they were "justified in their return of deadly fire." 

A third officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment over shooting into neighboring apartments. He was terminated from the force in June, and Cosgrove — along with another detective who sought the warrant on Taylor's apartment — was 

Taylor's boyfriend, Walker — against whom all charges over the night of the raid have been 

 — filed a civil lawsuit against the city and police department last fall. Mattingly filed a 

 one month later, accusing Walker of committing battery, assault and intentional emotional distress.

Mattingly remains on the force, which has cleared him of any wrongdoing. The AP reports he was 

 last month for violating the department's email policy by sending an email critical of leadership to all officers in September, in which he reportedly wrote that those involved in the raid "did the legal, moral and ethical thing." 

He is also the only officer involved in the raid to speak publicly about it in the year since. 

 with ABC News and the Courier-Journal, Mattingly said his family had received death threats and had to go into hiding. He also described the raid as "not a race thing like people try to make it to be." 

Across the country, protesters took to the streets last summer to demand justice and accountability for Taylor and other Black Americans killed and injured by law enforcement, including George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks and Jacob Blake. A fresh wave of demonstrations is unfolding now over the police killings of 

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Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly is writing a book about the botched raid, during which he shot into Taylor's apartment after being wounded. Post Hill Press says it will move forward with its plans to publish.

Simon & Schuster reverses, won't distribute book by officer in Breonna Taylor raid

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