12 Seconds in the Dark: A Police Officer's Firsthand Account of the Breonna Taylor Raid

This book was so good, I read it in 4 hours. I couldn’t put it down. It’s amazing all of the real facts that never were acknowledged by the media…From him telling his mom on the phone that the police were at the door to the issue with the GoFund Me account. I hope you sell the heck out of this book. Thank you for writing this.

So hard to put down! This story paints such a great picture of who Sgt. Mattingly is, and finally reveals the truths behind all of the lies that have been told regarding the Breonna Taylor tragedy!!

Well written book that gives a first hand perspective of that night’s events and the following months.

When I first heard about the shooting of Breonna Taylor on the news I had no idea who the police officers were that night. That same night I was with one of my best friends and she had told me that her brother had been shot. The picture that he talks about in the book was what my friend showed me telling me that her brother was going to be fine. It wasn’t until a few months later that I realized that John was the police officer. Many times when you see people being shot by a police you know that it’s going to cause a problem especially if it’s a white cop shooting a black suspect. I will never know the fear that many Black people have or the struggle that they go through, but I do know that I was taught to respect police officers. I am utterly shocked after listening to this book what the family had to endure by being a related to John. My heart breaks for his family and his extended family. My heart also breaks for Breonna ‘s mom because I cannot imagine losing my child in a horrible way. I’m sure deep down this is the only way she knows how to handle her hurt. This should not have happened. If only they had responded to the police instead of reacting to them. I always say that there are two sides to a story and I am happy that John was able to tell his side finally. I’ve watched a lot of crime shows, and I know a lot of it is fake, but there is one common factor that they always say during the show. Follow the evidence. The evidence never lies. I’ve listened to the news media talk about Breonna and not once have I heard any of the evidence that was portrayed in this book. I believe that the news media is part of the blame while there’s so much tension between Black people and cops. Whether you are a supporter of Breonna or the police officers involved, I urge you to read this book. You might learn something that the news media failed to tell you. This book was well written and documented. I’m so happy that John has proof to prove his innocence. The narrator did an amazing job.

Couldn’t put this one down. Like any decent human being, I hate to see the loss of life especially in an unnecessary case like this. This book explains from a reasonable side, how this could have been avoided. The “woke” media and society wants you to believe the cops are murderers. The truth is, the best way to avoid this happening is to not play stupid games with stupid people. Sgt Mattingly really hit the nail on the head in the last chapter, change needs to start in the judicial system. The cover ups (of the facts) from elected officials is downright disgusting and sickening. So much destruction, pain & loss of life could have been avoided had our civic “leaders” had a backbone and been willing to debunk the many false narratives. Thank you Sgt Mattingly for sharing your story even while probably putting your life at further risk.