Breonna Taylor Raid Officers Dismissed Of Felony Charges In Her Death
Two officers who received the warrant to raid Breonna Taylor‘s home have had their felony charges dismissed.
CNN and WDRB report that former Louisville Metro Police Department detective and sergeant, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, were initially charged with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home, and accused of falsifying a story to cover up the deadly incident.
Meany and Jaynes were charged with felonies for stopping Breona Taylor from exercising her Fourth Amendment right of preventing unreasonable search by using force with a “dangerous weapon.” However, U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson declared that there was no direct connection between Breonna Taylor’s death and whether or not the men had a warrant to search her premises. In other words, Judge Simpson is blaming Breonna’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, for her death, not law enforcement or the warrant, after he shot at officers on the scene.
While these charges have been dismissed, both former Louisville officers still have additional charges against them. Joshua Jaynes faces two counts of falsification of records, witness tampering, and conspiracy to falsify records. For Kyle Meany, he is being accused of reporting false statements to federal authorities. Jaynes could serve up to four decades behind bars if fully convicted of the remaining charges, and Meany would face five years in jail.
Additionally, Brett Hankison and Kelly Goodlett, other former officers of the Louisville Metro Police Department, caught charges in connection to Taylor’s death. Legal documents state that Goodlett “willfully used unconstitutionally excessive force” during the deadly incident and “fired his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and covered glass door,” per TMZ. Along with a “false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information.”
Goodlett, Joshua Jaynes, and Kyle Meany allegedly worked to concoct a falsified story “to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information.” Kelly Goodlett has since pleaded guilty and is expecting to be sentenced soon.
Meanwhile, Hankinson is set to face an upcoming civil trial in October. The former officer was accused of using “unjustified force” during the incident that led to Breonna’s demise. Prosecutors also claimed that Hankinson violated Taylor and Walker’s civil rights. If prosecuted, Brett Hankison could face life in prison.
Breonna Taylor’s family reacted to the decision in an interview with Louisville’s WDRB news outlet. They offered a statement to the outlet, saying, “The family is obviously devastated. Right now, we are just processing as prosecutors flush out the next steps. We’ve been told they plan to appeal, and so we will wait for the appeals process to play out.”
