Judge rules that Breonna Taylor's boyfriend caused her death

A federal judge on Thursday dismissed felony charges that could have carried a life sentence against two Louisville police officers for their involvement in the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

According to a 33-page ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, initiated the woman's killing by immediately shooting at police officers when they entered the 26-year-old victim's apartment looking for a drug dealer while she was in bed.

The officers, Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sergeant Kyle Meany, were accused of knowingly forging the warrant that led police to Taylor's door. They were not present during the fatal raid.

On Thursday, the judge ruled that there was “no direct connection between the warrantless entry and Taylor's death.” Walker's decision to shoot first was “the proximate or legal cause of Taylor's death.”

Walker was initially charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but those charges were later dropped after his lawyers claimed he believed he was shooting at burglars, not police officers.

Given the judges' decision, the charges against Jaynes and Meany were essentially reduced from serious civil rights violations to minor misdemeanors, according to the Associated Press. The two still face conspiracy charges for making false statements to investigators after Taylor's murder.

A third officer pleaded guilty to the alleged conspiracy and now plans to testify against her former colleagues. The officer, Kelly Goodlett, claims she told Taylor that the evidence for the warrant was problematic.

In October, police officer Brett Hankison is scheduled to stand trial again for blindly firing ten shots at Taylor's apartment. When Hankison took the stand for the first time in November, the jury in Kentucky could not agree on a verdict.

A grand jury's decision not to indict three other officers in connection with Taylor's killing sparked several days of protests in September 2022.

Taylor's family told the Associated Press on Friday they were “devastated” by the court's recent decision to reduce the charges and were trying to process what happened. Prosecutors plan to appeal the ruling.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris said during her vice presidential debate with Mike Pence in 2020 that Taylor's “family deserves justice.”

Celebrities such as Stevie Wonder and Kentucky native George Clooney also spoke out in support of Taylor.

With News Wire Services