Last month, a federal judge dismissed some of the most serious charges against two former Louisville Metro Police officers tied to the botched raid at Breonna Taylor’s home in 2020. Now, the U.S. Department of Justice wants to restore the charges.
If convicted, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany could face life sentences.
Jaynes and Meany were indicted for their role in securing a search warrant for Breonna Taylor’s apartment. Jaynes, Meany and another officer obtained a warrant with false information that led to the middle of the night police raid that killed Taylor in her home. Neither Jaynes nor Meany were present for the fatal raid.
A U.S. District Court Judge ruled the warrant was not the cause of Taylor’s death. According to court documents, the judge said the “legal cause of Taylor’s death” was the decision Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, made to fire a shot at officers who forcefully entered the apartment and broke down the door.
In a statement to LPM News in August, Taylor’s family said they were planning to appeal the case with the DOJ. LPM News reached out to the DOJ, and they declined to comment.
Jaynes and Meany are still facing other felony charges. Jaynes faces two counts of covering up Taylor's death after the botched police warrant. If convicted of those charges, Jaynes could face up to 40 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege Jaynes worked with another former LMPD officer, Kelly Goodlett, to hide that the warrant was falsified. In 2022, Goodlett was the first officer convicted for her involvement in the fatal raid. As of now, Goodlett’s sentencing has not been scheduled.
Meany is facing one felony count of lying to the FBI, which could carry a five-year prison sentence.
A spokesperson with the DOJ said in August the retrial against former officer Brett Hankison — one of the officers who was a part of the raid — is set for October. Hankison’s bullets did not strike Taylor, but his bullets went throughout Taylor’s home and into a neighboring apartment where a family was sleeping.
A federal judge declared a mistrial in Hankison’s case last year, after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
