2 Louisville Police Officers Connected To Breonna Taylor Shooting Have Been Fired

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Emergency medical technician Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by police in her home in March. Her name has become a rallying cry in protests against police brutality and social injustice.

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Kentucky Grand Jury Indicts 1 Of 3 Officers In Breonna Taylor Case

None of the officers who discharged their service weapons during the raid faces criminal charges for Taylor’s death.

Dispute over charging decisions

Another member of the search party, former Officer Brett Hankison, was terminated from LMPD in June.

A Kentucky grand jury indicted Hankison in September on three counts of wanton endangerment for his role in shooting into an apartment unit near Taylor’s.

When Daniel Cameron, the Kentucky Attorney General, announced Hankison’s indictment during a press briefing on Sept. 23, he said that Cosgrove, who fired the fatal shot, and another officer, Jonathan Mattingly, «were justified in their use of force.

Both Cosgrove and Mattingly fired into Taylor’s apartment after her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, first fired upon them.

Walker has maintained that the couple did not hear officers announce themselves before entering the apartment. He also said he mistook them for intruders. Walker, a licensed gun owner, said he fired a warning shot, which struck Mattingly in the leg.

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Louisville Police Officer Files Lawsuit Against Boyfriend Of Breonna Taylor

That prompted officers to return fire.

In October, Mattingly filed a counter-suit against Walker, saying that Walker committed assault, battery and intentional emotional distress. Earlier that month, Mattingly sat down for an interview with ABC News and the Louisville Courier Journal where he claimed that the Taylor shooting was «not a race thing like people try to make it to be.

Breonna Taylor’s name became a rallying cry, along with George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Jacob Blake and other Black Americans who were killed or seriously injured by law enforcement last year. Those encounters sparked a national reckoning on race and social inequities in the United States and internationally.

One of the grand jurors in the Taylor case said the move to terminate additional officers made him feel «vindicated, according to WFPL. The grand juror, who has remained anonymous, has joined two others in coming forward to raise concerns about how Cameron, the attorney general, presented the case.

Cameron had said grand jurors agreed with not charging any of the officers for the killing of Taylor.

However, the three grand jurors have said they not only disagreed with Cameron’s characterization, but also said they pressed for more charges to be considered, but those requests were rebuffed by prosecutors.