Louisville move to fire officers involved in raid that killed Breonna Taylor
'Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department.'
Two Louisville police officers connected to the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor in her apartment earlier this year have been notified of their impending termination.
Detective Joshua Jaynes, who falsified the “no-knock” search warrant application, received a pre-termination letter Tuesday, according to The Washington Post. Detective Myles Cosgrove, who fired the fatal shot that struck Taylor, also received notice that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Dept. intends to terminate his employment.
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Interim Police Chief Yvette Gentry noted in the letter to Jaynes that his termination comes nine months after he breached department policies and “lied” that Taylor was receiving drug packages related to the criminal activity of her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover.
Jaynes claimed he “verified through a US Postal Inspector that Jamarcus Glover has been receiving packages” to Taylor’s apartment. Glover has insisted that the items were only clothing.
theGRIO previously reported, Louisville police were told that there were no “suspicious” or drug-related packages sent to the home of Breonna Taylor according to testimony from an LMPD report.
The grand jury did not indict any of the officers involved with the shooting. Former Louisville Metropolitan Police Officer Brett Hankison was charged in September with wanton endangerment for firing bullets into a neighboring apartment. He has pleaded not guilty, theGRIO reported.
“These are extreme violations of our policies, which endangered others,” Gentry wrote in the letter. “Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department.”
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In an email sent to the LMPD, Gentry noted that the move to fire the two officers comes after a “nearly completed” internal investigation into whether the officers involved in the deadly raid violated the department’s policies for preparing for a warrant’s execution, The Washington Post report states.
“I had to make some tough decisions,” she wrote. “I do however, believe I was fair and I intend to take all mitigating factors into consideration. I believe my decisions have placed the responsibility for the actions taken in this case upon the shoulders of the people who I believe are responsible.”
Taylor died on March 13 after a judge approved an early morning raid based on information provided by the police officers who said that her residence was a “known drug house.” She was at home with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker who believed that they were being burglarized. Walker, a licensed gun owner, shot at the intruders. Officers responded with fire and Taylor was hit six times. She died at the scene.
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