Breonna Taylor’s mother ‘disappointed’ in hiring of ex-cop involved in daughter’s killing

Breonna Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, became emotional and broke down in tears when she appeared on “CNN This Morning” to respond to the hiring of one of the former Louisville Metro Police officers involved in her daughter’s March 2020 killing.

As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Myles Cosgrove recently returned to law enforcement after the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office hired him as a deputy. Cosgrove, who fired several rounds into Taylor’s apartment during the fatal botched raid, was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in January 2021. 

His termination at the time came after the department determined he went against its use-of-force procedures and did not use a body camera during the home raid. Investigators also said the bullet that killed Taylor was likely fired by Cosgrove, adding that he fired 16 shots into Breonna’s apartment during the botched raid.

Responding to Cosgrove returning to law enforcement, Palmer said the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office had not contacted her about the hiring, adding that she was “just disappointed in them.”

“I can’t understand why you would want this type of person to work in your department. You know, I’m scared for the people of Carroll County,” Palmer said.

During the interview, a video of Cosgrove’s attorney, Scott Miller talking about his client returning to law enforcement was played. Miller said that though he and his client did not want “anything to take away or diminish the value of the tragedy that happened to Breonna Taylor and her family”, Cosgrove “definitely has had a hard road to go in getting back to trying to figure out a way to support his family in the future.”

Palmer broke down in tears after that interview was played. “To say he’s had a hard road is insane to me. Breonna is not even here,” an emotional Palmer said. Her lawyer, Lonita Baker, also said Miller’s comments “definitely tried to eliminate Myles’ own responsibility for Breonna’s murder.”

“We’re talking about a man in his own words who could not see, who could not hear, who completely lost any type of sensory and fired 16 rounds into Breonna’s home without a target,” Baker continued. “He was fired for violating police protocol and for him not to lose his certification, and to be able to police in another city is completely asinine.”

“The people of Carroll County should be alarmed. They are in danger because this is a man, when stress hit him, he lost all of his sensories. And that’s using his words,” the attorney added. “Not words that we’re saying about him, that was in his own statement. He said he couldn’t hear, he couldn’t see. He blanked out, and in response to blanking out, he fired 16 rounds. That’s reckless behavior.”

Following his appointment, Carroll County chief deputy, Robert Miller, said a state grand jury had cleared Cosgrove for his involvement in the deadly home raid. In November, his state peace officer certification was also not revoked by the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council, meaning he could still be employed as a law enforcement officer in the state, per The Associated Press.