The court dismissed serious charges against former Louisville officers in the Breonna Taylor case
24 august 2024 в 03:37
A federal judge has dismissed major charges in serious crimes against two former Louisville police officers accused of falsifying a warrant that led the police to Breonna Taylor’s door, where she was fatally shot.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson ruled that the legal cause of Taylor’s death was the shot fired by her boyfriend, not the invalid warrant.
The decision overturned the serious charges announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 during a high-profile visit to Louisville. The charges were brought against former police detective Joshua Jaynes and former sergeant Kyle Meany.
Garland accused both, who were not present during the raid, of providing a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home before the raid by the Louisville Metro Police Department. They were also accused of creating a «false alibi in an attempt to avoid responsibility for their role in preparing the warrant affidavit containing false information», - according to court documents.
The charges carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
However, Simpson wrote in his decision on Tuesday that «there is no direct connection between the unarmed entry and Taylor’s death», - effectively reducing the civil rights violations charges against Jaynes and Meany to minor offenses.
The judge did not dismiss the conspiracy charge against Jaynes and another charge against Meany, who is accused of perjury before investigators.
In 2020, police broke down Taylor’s apartment door, where the 26-year-old EMT lived, when her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired his weapon at officers, believing a robber was breaking into the home. In response, the police opened fire, and a bullet fatally wounded Taylor.
Simpson concluded that «Walker's behavior was the cause, or legal cause, of Taylor’s death».
«While the indictment alleges that Jaynes and Meany set in motion a chain of events that ended in Taylor’s death, it also alleges that Walker disrupted those events when he decided to open fire on the police», - Simpson wrote.
Immediately after the incident, Walker was arrested and charged with attempted murder for shooting at the police. However, the charges were later dropped.
A third former officer, charged in the federal warrant case, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2022 and is expected to testify against Jaynes and Meany at their trials.
A fourth former officer, Brett Hankison, was also charged by federal prosecutors in 2022 with endangering Taylor’s life, Walker’s life, and some of her neighbors. He is charged with «adopting constitutionally excessive force… when he fired his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a closed window and a glass door».
Hankison, who fired 10 shots into Taylor’s home, will face a new civil rights trial in October after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision in his first trial
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson ruled that the legal cause of Taylor’s death was the shot fired by her boyfriend, not the invalid warrant.
The decision overturned the serious charges announced by U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in 2022 during a high-profile visit to Louisville. The charges were brought against former police detective Joshua Jaynes and former sergeant Kyle Meany.
Garland accused both, who were not present during the raid, of providing a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home before the raid by the Louisville Metro Police Department. They were also accused of creating a «false alibi in an attempt to avoid responsibility for their role in preparing the warrant affidavit containing false information», - according to court documents.
The charges carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
However, Simpson wrote in his decision on Tuesday that «there is no direct connection between the unarmed entry and Taylor’s death», - effectively reducing the civil rights violations charges against Jaynes and Meany to minor offenses.
The judge did not dismiss the conspiracy charge against Jaynes and another charge against Meany, who is accused of perjury before investigators.
In 2020, police broke down Taylor’s apartment door, where the 26-year-old EMT lived, when her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired his weapon at officers, believing a robber was breaking into the home. In response, the police opened fire, and a bullet fatally wounded Taylor.
Simpson concluded that «Walker's behavior was the cause, or legal cause, of Taylor’s death».
«While the indictment alleges that Jaynes and Meany set in motion a chain of events that ended in Taylor’s death, it also alleges that Walker disrupted those events when he decided to open fire on the police», - Simpson wrote.
Immediately after the incident, Walker was arrested and charged with attempted murder for shooting at the police. However, the charges were later dropped.
A third former officer, charged in the federal warrant case, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to conspiracy in 2022 and is expected to testify against Jaynes and Meany at their trials.
A fourth former officer, Brett Hankison, was also charged by federal prosecutors in 2022 with endangering Taylor’s life, Walker’s life, and some of her neighbors. He is charged with «adopting constitutionally excessive force… when he fired his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a closed window and a glass door».
Hankison, who fired 10 shots into Taylor’s home, will face a new civil rights trial in October after the jury failed to reach a unanimous decision in his first trial
© Artemenko Olga
