DOJ seeks to end criminal case against former police officers charged in Breonna Taylor's death

The Justice Department moved Friday to drop criminal charges against two former Louisville police officers who were charged for their roles in the fatal 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor. 

The filing seeks to drop outstanding criminal charges against former officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany with prejudice. They were charged with unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction offenses, which were brought by the Biden administration.

Jaynes has been accused of drafting a warrant affidavit for Taylor's home that was based on affirmative lies and lies by omission, according to CBS News, and Meany was accused of approving the affidavit despite knowing it allegedly contained lies. 

"Kyle is incredibly grateful for today's filings," Meany's attorney Michael Denbow said in a statement. "He is looking forward to putting this matter behind him and moving forward with his life."

The filing was signed by the Justice Department's Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights division Harmeet Dhillon, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Robert Keenan and Acting Criminal Chief Katie Neff.

The request comes after former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in the fatal shooting.  

Taylor was fatally shot in March 2020 by Louisville officers who had knocked down her door while executing a search warrant. Taylor’s boyfriend fired a shot that hit one of the officers as they came through the door and they returned fire, striking Taylor multiple times. 

Hankison was one of the officers who fired into the apartment but did not hit anyone. However, he was convicted of violating Taylor's civil rights and using excessive force during the raid. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.