Feds move to dismiss charges against officers accused of forging arrest warrant in Breonna Taylor raid

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Federal prosecutors asked a judge Friday to dismiss charges against two Louisville officers accused of forging the arrest warrant that led police to raid Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night she was killed six years ago.

Prosecutors said in a lawsuit that their review of the case revealed the charges against former Detective Joshua Gaines and former Sgt. Kyle Meaney should be “fired in the interest of justice.”

Read more: A former Louisville officer has been found guilty of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during a deadly raid

Judges twice reduced a felony charge against each officer to a misdemeanor, saying there was no direct connection between the false information in the warrant and Taylor’s death. Prosecutors said after the second ruling that they decided to drop the cases.

“We are pleased with this development,” said Travis Locke, Gaines’ attorney.

Meaney’s attorney, Michael Denbo, said he was “extremely grateful for the filing today.”

He said Meaney is “looking forward to putting this behind him and moving on with his life.”

Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by police when they broke down her apartment door while she was serving a no-knock drug order looking for her ex-boyfriend who no longer lived there.

Taylor’s boyfriend at the time fired at the officers, and Taylor was killed when police returned fire.

The death of Taylor, who was Black, on March 13, 2020, and local outrage over Louisville’s handling of the case, gained widespread attention during the wave of racial justice protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May of that year. Six years later, 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 brought charges against the officers. However, under President Donald Trump, the Justice Department has requested that Brett Hankison, the only officer serving prison time in connection with Taylor’s killing, be released from prison while his conviction is appealed.

Taylor’s mother, Tamkia Palmer, said in a Facebook post that she was extremely disappointed in the Trump Justice Department.

Read more: Supporters of Breonna Taylor are relieved following charges brought against the police involved in her killing

“Their phone call today informing me that the police charges were dropped while noting that they helped me is completely disrespectful,” Palmer wrote. “This is the first time I’ve heard from them since they took over and they clearly have not served me or Breonna well.”

A federal judge sentenced Hankison to two years, nine months in prison and three years of supervised release for blindly firing 10 shots into Taylor’s windows the night she was killed. None of the shots hit anyone.

Neither of the two officers who shot Taylor was charged, after prosecutors deemed they were justified in opening fire on the apartment.

Police found no drugs or money inside Taylor’s apartment. The city paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to Taylor’s family.

Collins reported from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press reporters Aaron Morrison in New York City and Jonathan Mathis in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.