Judge Tosses Charges Against Former Louisville Officers in Breonna Taylor Case

The officers were accused of falsifying a warrant that led to the botched police raid on Taylor’s apartment the night she was shot and killed.

(Left) Louisville Police Det. Joshua Jaynes. (Right) Sgt. Kyle Meany of the Louisville Metro Police Department testifies in Louisville, Ky., on Feb. 23, 2022. Louisville Police via AP; Timothy D. Easley/Pool via AP Photo

A federal judge on Friday threw out charges against two former Louisville police officers connected to the incident in which Breonna Taylor was shot and killed.

U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson’s one-page order dismissed the charges against former Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany, who were accused of falsifying a warrant that led to the deadly officer-involved shooting at Taylor’s apartment six years ago.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Civil Rights Division prosecutors requested on March 21 that the judge permanently dismiss their charges “in the interest of justice.”

“The Court has received and considered the Government’s motion to dismiss,” Judge Simpson wrote in his Friday order. “The Court hereby GRANTS the Government’s motion.”

Jaynes’s lawyer, Travis Lock, sent an emailed statement to The Epoch Times, writing that his client is “filled with tremendous appreciation.”

Lock accused former President Joe Biden’s administration of prioritizing the vilification of good police officers over fighting crime in American communities.

“The unimaginable tragedy of Breonna Taylor’s death could never have been redressed by this vengeful prosecution because it was based on fabricated allegations from the start,” Lock wrote. “After all, injustice can never be rectified with injustice.”

Meany’s lawyer, Michael Denbow, also emailed a statement to The Epoch Times on behalf of him and his client.

“Kyle is overjoyed and incredibly relieved to have the case dismissed,” the statement said. “He is incredibly thankful for his family and everyone else that has stood by and supported him through this process.”

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, had criticized the DOJ motion to dismiss the charges, calling the agency and the Trump administration “deplorable.”

“I am compelled to express my extreme disappointment in [President Donald] Trump and the Department of Justice,” she said in a post on Facebook.

After Taylor’s death, the city of Louisville paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to her family.

A federal judge had previously dismissed Jaynes and Meany’s most serious charges: deprivation of rights with an enhancement of use of a dangerous weapon causing death. Those charges were brought by the DOJ under former President Joe Biden.

Taylor was 26 years old when she was shot by police during the execution of a no-knock warrant in March 2020 as part of a drug investigation into her boyfriend, suspect Kenneth Walker.

As officers executed the raid, Walker fired a shot that hit one officer in the leg. He later explained that he believed intruders were breaking in.

Police returned fire into Taylor’s apartment. Several bullets struck and killed her. Walker was not shot.

The only police officer to serve time in connection to Taylor’s death, Brett Hankison, received a 33-month sentence with three years of supervised release for firing blindly through windows into Taylor’s apartment during the raid. None of the 10 bullets he fired hit anyone.

At Hankison’s sentencing, he apologized and said he would have acted differently if he knew about the issues surrounding the no-knock warrant.

Prosecutors did not charge the other two officers present during the execution of the no-knock warrant, finding their return fire justified.