Justice Department moves to dismiss charges against officers accused of falsifying warrant in Breonna Taylor raid

Federal prosecutors asked a judge Friday to dismiss the charges against two Louisville officers accused of falsifying the warrant that led police to raid Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night she was killed six years ago.

Prosecutors said in a court filing their review of the case showed the charges against former Louisville detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany should be “dismissed in the interest of justice.”

It’s unclear when the judge might rule on the request. A hearing is scheduled for April 3.

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Judges have twice reduced a felony charge against each officer to a misdemeanor, saying there wasn’t a direct link between the false information in the warrant and Taylor’s death. Prosecutors said after the second ruling that they had decided to drop the cases.

“We are elated with this development,” said Travis Lock, an attorney for Jaynes.

Meany’s lawyer, Michael Denbow, said he is “incredibly grateful for today’s filing.”

His client “is looking forward to putting this matter behind him and moving forward with his life,” Denbow said.

Taylor, 26, was shot to death by police when they broke down the door of her apartment while serving a no-knock drug warrant looking for a former boyfriend who no longer lived there.

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Taylor’s boyfriend at the time fired at the officers, and Taylor was killed as police fired back.

The March 13, 2020, death of Taylor, who was Black, and local anger over Louisville’s handling of the case gained widespread attention during the wave of racial justice protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis that May. Six years on, activists continue to point to Taylor’s killing as an example of the systemic injustice Black women face.

Federal prosecutors under former President Joe Biden pressed charges against the officers. Under President Donald Trump, though, the Department of Justice asked that Brett Hankison, the only officer serving prison time related to Taylor’s killing, be let out of prison while he appeals his conviction.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said in a Facebook post she is extremely disappointed in Trump’s Justice Department.

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“Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly disrespectful,” Palmer wrote. “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.”

Friday’s decision was an insult to everyone who fought for Taylor and shows her life is not valued by the current administration, said Democratic US Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents much of Louisville.

“My heart is heavy for Breonna’s loved ones — this is not justice,” McGarvey posted on social media.

A federal judge sentenced Hankison to 2 years and nine months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s windows on the night she was killed. None of the shots hit anyone.

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Neither of the two officers who did shoot Taylor was charged, after prosecutors deemed they were justified in returning fire into the apartment.

Police found no drugs or cash inside Taylor’s apartment. The city paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to Taylor’s family.

Lawyers for Taylor’s family said the warrant needs heavy legal scrutiny because without it police never go to her door and the shooting never happens. They remain angry and heartbroken almost no one faced punishment in the shootings, attorneys Ben Crump and Lonita Baker said in a statement.

“Breonna Taylor always deserved more than the scraps of justice she got. Now, even those may be further stripped away,” they said.

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