Federal prosecutors in Louisville on Friday asked a judge to dismiss charges against two former city officers accused of falsifying the warrant that led to the police raid in which Breonna Taylor was killed six years ago.
In a court filing, prosecutors said their review of the evidence shows the cases against former Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany should be “dismissed in the interest of justice.”
Two judges had previously reduced a felony falsely swearing charge against each officer to a misdemeanor, concluding there was not a direct causal link between the allegedly false information in the warrant and Taylor’s death. After that second ruling, prosecutors said they decided to drop the matters.
Attorneys for both former officers welcomed the filing. Travis Lock, representing Jaynes, said, “We are elated with this development.” Michael Denbow, Meany’s lawyer, said he was “incredibly grateful for today’s filing” and that Meany intends to move on with his life.
Taylor, 26, was shot and killed on March 13, 2020, when officers forced entry into her apartment while serving a no-knock narcotics warrant seeking a former boyfriend who no longer lived there. The man fired at officers, and police returned fire, striking and killing Taylor.
Her death drew national attention amid the racial justice protests that followed the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and activists have continued to cite Taylor’s case as an example of systemic injustice faced by Black women.
Federal prosecutors had brought charges while President Joe Biden was in office. The story notes that, during the Trump administration, the Justice Department had asked that Brett Hankison — the only officer serving prison time linked to Taylor’s death — be released while he appealed his conviction.
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, expressed deep disappointment with the Justice Department, writing on Facebook that she was “extremely disappointed in Trump’s Justice Department.” She added, “Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly disrespectful. This is the first time I’ve heard from them since they took over and it’s clear they have not served me or Breonna well.”
A federal judge sentenced Hankison to 2 years and 9 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after finding he had fired 10 rounds blindly into Taylor’s apartment windows; none of those shots hit anyone. Prosecutors did not charge the two officers whose return fire struck Taylor, concluding their actions were justified.
No drugs or cash were found in Taylor’s apartment following the raid. The city of Louisville later agreed to a $12 million settlement with Taylor’s family to resolve a wrongful-death claim.