LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Federal prosecutors filed a new indictment Tuesday against two former Louisville officers accused of falsifying a warrant that led police to Breonna Taylor’s door before they fatally shot her.
The Justice Department’s superseding indictment comes weeks after a federal judge threw out major felony charges against former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany.
The new indictment includes additional allegations about how the former officers allegedly falsified the affidavit for the search warrant.
It says they both knew the affidavit they used to obtain the warrant to search Taylor’s home contained information that was false, misleading and out of date, omitted “material information” and knew it lacked the necessary probable cause.
The indictment says if the judge who signed the warrant had known that “key statements in the affidavit were false and misleading,” she would not have approved it “and there would not have been a search at Taylor’s home.”
Attorney Thomas Clay, who represents Jaynes, said the new indictment raises “new legal arguments, which we are researching to file our response.” An attorney for Meany did not immediately respond to a message for comment late Tuesday.
Federal charges against Jaynes and Meany were announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022. Garland accused Jaynes and Meany, who were not present at the raid, of knowing they falsified part of the warrant and put Taylor in a dangerous situation by sending armed officers to her apartment.
When police carrying a drug warrant broke down Taylor’s door in March 2020, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot that struck an officer in the leg. Walker said he believed an intruder was bursting in. Officers returned fire, striking and killing Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her hallway.
In August, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson declared that the actions of Taylor’s boyfriend were the legal cause of her death, not a bad warrant.
Simpson wrote that “there is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylor’s death.” Simpson’s ruling effectively reduced the civil rights violation charges against Jaynes and Meany, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison, to misdemeanors.
The judge declined to dismiss a conspiracy charge against Jaynes and another charge against Meany, who is accused of making false statements to investigators.
Federal prosecutors have filed a new indictment against former Louisville police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor. The new charges come after a grand jury declined to indict the officers on charges directly related to Taylor’s death last year.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, charges former officers Brett Hankison, Myles Cosgrove, and Joshua Jaynes with federal crimes related to the botched raid that led to Taylor’s death. Hankison is charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into neighboring apartments during the raid. Cosgrove and Jaynes are charged with deprivation of rights under color of law for their roles in the raid.
The new indictment marks a significant development in the case, as it represents the first time federal prosecutors have brought charges against the officers involved in Taylor’s death. The charges also signal a shift in the legal strategy surrounding the case, as federal prosecutors seek to hold the officers accountable for their actions.
The indictment comes after months of protests and calls for justice for Taylor, who was killed when officers executed a no-knock warrant at her apartment in March 2020. The officers involved in the raid claimed they announced themselves before entering the apartment, but Taylor’s boyfriend, who was with her at the time, said he did not hear any announcement before he fired a shot in self-defense.
The case has sparked national outrage and renewed calls for police reform and accountability. Many have criticized the handling of the case by local officials and called for a more thorough investigation into the officers’ actions.
The new indictment is a step towards holding the officers accountable for their actions and bringing justice for Breonna Taylor and her family. It remains to be seen how the case will proceed in federal court, but many are hopeful that this development will lead to a more thorough examination of the events surrounding Taylor’s death and bring about meaningful change in how police officers are held accountable for their actions.
