Louisville Metro Police Department's interim chief has officially fired two officers for their actions in the Breonna Taylor case and cleared another of wrongdoing.
Interim Chief Yvette Gentry notified detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes last week of her intention to fire them for their actions related to the fatal shooting of Taylor by police last March. She met with them and their attorneys on Monday.
LMPD spokesperson Sgt. John Bradley said in an email the file from the Professional Standards Unit investigation into policy violations related to the Taylor case will "in the coming days, be prepared for public inspection."
Jaynes obtained the warrant for Taylor's home; the final action letter from LMPD said an allegation that he was untruthful was sustained. Cosgrove was one of the officers who shot Taylor, and the letter said he violated policies for use of force and wearable video systems.
The former officers have 10 calendar days to file an appeal with the Merit Board.
In an email, Keith Kamenish and Chad Gardner said their client Jaynes would appeal his firing.
"We are disappointed. Detective Jaynes will appeal his termination to the Police Merit Board for a full hearing and a full presentation of evidence concerning LMPD's 3 month drug trafficking investigation that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor," they wrote.
An attorney for Cosgrove did not respond to a request for comment.
Both officers had been on paid leave for months. Brett Hankison, the officer who fired into Taylor's apartment and a neighbor's, was already fired and indicted by a grand jury on wanton endangerment charges for the bullets that entered the neighboring apartment.
LMPD officers shot and killed Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, in her home in March as they entered it to search for evidence against her ex-boyfriend. Her boyfriend Kenneth Walker fired one shot as they entered, and three officers returned fire. None of the officers who entered Taylor's apartment or fired their weapons were wearing body cameras.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was shot in the leg, was investigated by the Professional Standards Unit for possible violations of the use of force and deescalation policies. He was exonerated, according to documents released by LMPD Wednesday. The letter doesn't include any details of the investigation's findings.
LMPD also released the findings for other officers involved in the Taylor case:
- Lt. Shawn Hoover was investigated for potentially violating rules on the responsibilities of commanding officers, and exonerated.
- Sgt. Kyle Meany of the criminal interdiction division violated policy by failing to share the risk assessment matrix through his chain of command before officers entered Taylor’s apartment with a no-knock warrant. Meany received a letter of reprimand.
- Detective Wesley Barton of the major crimes division was investigated for the "truthfulness/untruthfulness" policy, and that allegation was "not sustained."
- Detective Anthony James of the criminal interdiction division violated the department's policy on body cameras and was suspended for one day without pay, according to the records.
- Detective Michael Campbell of the criminal interdiction division violated the department's policy on body cameras and was suspended for one day without pay, according to the records.
