Feds ask judge to drop charges against officers accused of falsifying warrant in Breonna Taylor killing

The US Justice Department has asked a federal judge to toss the remaining criminal charges against two Louisville cops accused of falsifying the ‌search warrant that led to the fatal 2020 police raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment.The charges against ex-Detective Joshua Jaynes and ex-Sgt.Kyle Meany should be dismissed “in the interest of justice,” prosecutors said in a motion filed Friday.

The move followed an internal review of the case triggered by a judge twice reducing the most serious charge against each officer from a felony to a misdemeanor.The judge determined there wasn’t enough evidence to connect the warrant’s false information to Taylor’s death.A judge must approve the dismissal.“We are elated with this development,” said Jayne’s lawyer Travis LockMeany’s lawyer, Michael Denbow, said his client is “incredibly grateful for today’s filing.”Taylor, 26, was killed by plainclothes police on March 13, 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant while raiding her boyfriend’s home.Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm and thought the couple were being robbed, shot at police, prompting them to fire back 22 times into the apartment.

Police killed Taylor when they returned fire.The death of Taylor, who was black, and local authorities’ handling of it, gained national attention during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests sparked by the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis that May.Federal prosecutors under former President Biden pressed charges against the officers involved in Taylor’s death.The DOJ under President Trump has asked that Brett Hankison, the only cop behind bars for Taylor’s death, be let out of prison while he appeals his conviction.Taylor’s mother, Tamkia Palmer, expressed disappointment over the DOJ’s decision.“Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly disrespectful,” Palmer sai...