Feds move to dismiss charges against officers accused of falsifying
warrant in Breonna Taylor raid
[March 21, 2026]
By DYLAN LOVAN and JEFFREY COLLINS
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Federal prosecutors asked a judge Friday to
dismiss the charges against two Louisville officers accused of
falsifying the warrant that led police to raid Breonna Taylor's
apartment the night she was killed six years ago.
Prosecutors said in a court filing that their review of the case showed
the charges against former Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle
Meany should be “dismissed in the interest of justice."
It's unclear when the judge might rule on the request. A hearing is
scheduled for April 3.
Judges have twice reduced a felony charge against each officer to a
misdemeanor, saying there wasn't a direct link between the false
information in the warrant and Taylor's death. Prosecutors said after
the second ruling that they had decided to drop the cases.
"We are elated with this development,” said Travis Lock, an attorney for
Jaynes.
Meany's lawyer, Michael Denbow, said he is "incredibly grateful for
today’s filing.”
Meany “is looking forward to putting this matter behind him and moving
forward with his life,” he said.
Taylor, 26, was shot to death by police when they broke down the door of
her apartment while serving a no-knock drug warrant looking for a former
boyfriend who was no longer there.
Taylor's boyfriend at the time fired at the officers, and Taylor was
killed as police fired back.
The March 13, 2020, death of Taylor, who was Black, and local anger over
Louisville’s handling of the case gained widespread attention during the
wave of racial justice protests sparked by the police murder of George
Floyd in Minneapolis that May. Six years on, activists continue to point
to Taylor’s killing as an example of the systemic injustice Black women
face.
Federal prosecutors under former President Joe Biden pressed charges
against the officers. Under President Donald Trump, though, the
Department of Justice asked that Brett Hankison, the only officer
serving prison time related to Taylor's killing, be let out of prison
while he appeals his conviction.
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said in a Facebook post that she is
extremely disappointed in Trump’s Justice Department.
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Protesters participate in the Good Trouble Tuesday march for Breonna
Taylor, on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. (Amy Harris/Invision/AP,
File)
“Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police
are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly
disrespectful," Palmer wrote. “This is the first time I’ve heard
from them since they took over and it’s clear they have not served
me or Breonna well.”
Friday's decision was an insult to everyone who fought for Taylor
and shows her life is not valued by the current administration, said
Democratic U.S. Rep. Morgan McGarvey, who represents much of
Louisville.
“My heart is heavy for Breonna’s loved ones — this is not justice,”
McGarvey posted on social media.
A federal judge sentenced Hankison to 2 years and nine months in
prison and 3 years of supervised release for blindly firing 10 shots
into Taylor’s windows on the night she was killed. None of the shots
hit anyone.
Neither of the two officers who did shoot Taylor was charged, after
prosecutors deemed they were justified in returning fire into the
apartment.
Police found no drugs or cash inside Taylor's apartment. The city
paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to Taylor’s family.
Lawyers for Taylor's family said the warrant needs heavy legal
scrutiny because without it police never go to her door and the
shooting never happens. They remain angry and heartbroken almost no
one faced punishment in the shootings, attorneys Ben Crump and
Lonita Baker said in a statement.
“Breonna Taylor always deserved more than the scraps of justice she
got. Now, even those may be further stripped away," they said.
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