A former Louisville, Ky., police officer involved in last year’s fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor has returned his book advance and is exploring his options, his former publisher, Post Hill Press LLC, said Wednesday.
Jonathan Mattingly’s book, “The Fight for Truth: The Inside Story Behind the Breonna Taylor Tragedy,” has a contentious history. In April, Simon & Schuster, which distributes titles published by Post Hill Press, said it wouldn’t distribute the book.
Post Hill Press Publisher Anthony Ziccardi said in an interview that Mr. Mattingly had called him several weeks ago and said he wanted to find another publisher. “We told him that we don’t have a warehouse and couldn’t distribute the book without Simon & Schuster,” said Mr. Ziccardi. “He thought it was best to find another publisher who could fully distribute the book. We wish him success.”
Brentwood, Tenn.-based Post Hill Press is a conservative publisher with imprints ranging from pop culture to current affairs. It typically acquires manuscripts, edits them and publishes them, but it depends on Simon & Schuster to get its books to retailers and wholesalers.
Mr. Mattingly was one of three police officers who fired their weapons during a raid on Ms. Taylor’s apartment in Louisville, Ky., last year. He was shot during the encounter and later retired. The killing of Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was among several instances of police force against Black Americans highlighted by nationwide protests calling to end racism and change law-enforcement practices.
