Nearly four years after Breonna Taylor was fatally shot by police officers in Louisville, Kentucky, the case remains in the courts.
Recently, key charges against two former Louisville police officers involved in the raid that led to the 26-year-old medical worker’s death were dismissed by a Kentucky judge.
On Thursday, Judge Charles R. Simpson III of the U.S. District Court for Western Kentucky ruled that Taylor’s death was triggered by her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who fired the first shot when police arrived at her apartment on March 13, 2020.
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Despite former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany being accused of falsifying a search warrant, the judge emphasized that Walker’s gunfire at what he believed were intruders prompted the deadly police response, which led to Taylor’s death.
Taylor’s killing, which occurred just two months after George Floyd’s death, sparked widespread outrage and was a rallying point for civil rights activists.
Jaynes, 40, and Meany, 35, were charged in 2022 by a federal grand jury with depriving Taylor of her constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, resulting in death. Jaynes was accused of drafting a false search warrant, while Meany was charged with lying to federal investigators.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, at the time, stated that the charges highlighted the Justice Department’s mission to protect Americans’ civil rights, noting, “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”
However, Judge Simpson’s ruling determined that Jaynes and Meany, who were not present at Taylor’s apartment during the raid, were not directly responsible for her death. He stated, “The Court finds that the warrantless entry was not the actual cause of Taylor’s death,” adding that Walker’s decision to open fire was the legal cause of her death.
As a result, the felony civil rights charges against Jaynes and Meany, which could have carried a life sentence, will be reduced to misdemeanors. Nonetheless, the charges related to the alleged cover-up of the search warrant and lying to investigators remain unchanged.
Thomas Clay, Jaynes’ attorney, expressed satisfaction with the ruling, stating, “We are very pleased with the ruling from Judge Simpson. It takes off the table the most serious charge.” He added, “We’re not out of the woods yet,” and looked forward to a potential trial.
The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly reviewing the judge’s decision and considering its next steps. Meanwhile, Taylor’s family vowed to continue their fight for justice, expressing devastation at the ruling and indicating plans to appeal.
The federal case also involves two other former Louisville police officers. Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring to falsify the warrant application, while Brett Hankison, charged with endangering lives during the raid, faces a retrial in October after a jury deadlocked in his initial prosecution.
