Kentucky judge blames Breonna Taylor's boyfriend for fatal police shooting

A judge in Kentucky ruled that Breonna Taylor's boyfriend's decision to open fire was the legal reason for her fatal shooting by police officers, dismissing federal charges against two police officers who allegedly forged a search warrant on drug charges that led to officers breaking down their door and killing them in 2020.

In a decision Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles R. Simpson III dismissed criminal mischief charges against former Louisville Police Detective Joshua Jaynes, who was accused of knowingly writing a false affidavit for a search warrant for Taylor's home, and former Sergeant Kyle Meany, who authorized the search warrant.

Three plainclothes Louisville police officers, Brett Hankison, Jon Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, executed the search warrant for Taylor's home on March 13, 2020. Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was startled by banging on the door, said he assumed it was a break-in and fired a shot in the dark, hitting Mattingly. Officers returned 32 shots, killing Taylor.

The judge ruled that “there is no direct connection between the warrantless entry and Taylor's death,” and wrote that Jaynes and Meany were not involved in the raid on Taylor's home. Instead, he wrote, Walker's decision to open fire was the legal cause of Taylor's death.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced federal indictments against Jaynes, Meany and two other officials for 2022.

Simpson's ruling Thursday means that Jaynes and Meany, who would have faced life in prison if convicted of the crimes, now face only a misdemeanor charge stemming from covering up the allegedly false search warrant and lying to investigators. Both men have pleaded not guilty to all counts.

There are no There was no objective account of the chaos during Taylor's fatal shooting. Her family has long disputed police accounts of what happened in her home that night, and officers executing the warrant gave differing versions of events. None of the officers used body cameras during the operation.

Taylor's family told the Associated Press that prosecutors had told them they would appeal Simpson's verdict.

“Obviously, right now we are devastated by the judge's decision, which we disagree with, and are just trying to process everything,” they said. “The only thing we can do at this point is continue to be patient. … We will keep fighting until we get full justice for Breonna Taylor.”