Felony Charges Dropped Against Two Former Louisville Officers in Breonna Taylor Case

U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson has dismissed major felony charges against two former Louisville police officers, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, accused of falsifying the warrant that led to the tragic shooting of Breonna Taylor in March 2020.

The judge determined that it was the actions of Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who fired at police during the raid, that were the legal cause of her death, not the allegedly flawed warrant. This ruling reduces the civil rights violation charges against Jaynes and Meany, which previously carried a potential life sentence, to misdemeanors.

The federal charges against Jaynes and Meany were initially brought forward by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022. Garland had accused the two officers of knowingly submitting false information in the warrant, which ultimately placed Taylor in harm’s way. However, Judge Simpson ruled that “there is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylor’s death,” focusing instead on Walker’s decision to shoot as the primary cause.

Despite this ruling, Jaynes and Meany are not completely off the hook. The judge declined to dismiss a conspiracy charge against Jaynes and another charge related to making false statements against Meany.

The case gained national attention after Louisville police, executing a drug-related warrant, forcibly entered Taylor’s apartment. Walker, believing an intruder was breaking in, fired a shot that struck an officer in the leg. In the ensuing chaos, police returned fire, tragically killing Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her own home.

Walker initially faced attempted murder charges, but these were later dropped when his legal team argued that he had no idea the intruders were police officers.

As this legal battle continues, a third former officer, Kelly Goodlett, who was also involved in the warrant preparation, has already pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges and is expected to testify against Jaynes and Meany. Additionally, former officer Brett Hankison, who was charged with endangering the lives of Taylor, Walker, and their neighbors by firing into Taylor’s windows, will face a retrial in October after his first trial ended in a hung jury.