COP OUT
TWO more police officers, who were involved in the botched raid in which Breonna Taylor was shot dead, are set to be fired.
They are detective Joshua Jaynes, who was responsible for the "no-knock" search warrant, and his colleague Myles Cosgrove, who an FBI ballistics report concluded fired the fatal shot.
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Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room aide, was shot dead by police at her home in Louisville, Kentucky, on March 13 when cops executed a no-knock warrant at her apartment as she slept with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker on March 13.
Police said Walker fired once at them, giving them cause to fire back, killing Taylor but not hitting Walker.
Detective Brett Hankison was fired from the police force in June and charged in September with "wanton endangerment," for wildly and blindly shooting into adjacent apartments during the raid.
He pled not guilty.
'EXTREME VIOLATIONS OF OUR POLICIES'
Now Jaynes and Cosgrove have been sacked as well after an internal probe by the Louisville Metro Police Department's Professional Standards Unit, according to the detective's lawyer.
The cops received the termination paperwork from interim police chief, Yvette Gentry.
"These are extreme violations of our policies, which endangered others," Gentry wrote in the letter.
"Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department.
"Your conduct has severely damaged the image our department has established within our community."
The frontline medic, who worked for two local hospitals, had no criminal history.
Your conduct has severely damaged the image our department has established within our community
Yvette Gentry, interim police chief
Jaynes was not present at the fatal shooting in South Louisville, but he secured a warrant with a no-knock clause some 12 hours earlier.
In the pretermination letter, Gentry said Jaynes lied twice when he swore the warrant to Circuit Judge Mary Shaw on March 12.
Gentry claims Jayne lied about receiving information from the U.S. Postal Service about parcels for Taylor's ex-boyfriend which had been delivered to her apartment, the New York Times reports.
Gentry said Jaynes had lied because the information had come from another police officer, not the Postal Service.
"It is clear from this review there should have been better controls, supervision and scrutiny over this operation prior to the warrant being signed and executed," Gentry wrote.
"Because the operations plan was not completed properly a very dangerous situation was created for all parties involved.
"You were the officer who conducted the majority of the investigation; however, neither you, your direct supervisor, or his lieutenant were present or available at the scene when the search warrant was executed."
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But the cop's attorney, Thomas Clay, claims Jaynes "did nothing wrong".
"Detective Jaynes and I will show up for the pre-termination hearing to try to convince acting Chief Gentry that this action is unwarranted," he said.
Clay said Detective Myles Cosgrove, who the FBI concluded fired the shot which killed Taylor, was also sent a pretermination letter.
Jaynes and Cosgrove could become the second and third officers to be fired in connection to Taylor's death.
Detective Brett Hankison was fired in June for "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's house.
If convicted, Hankinson – who fired 10 of the shots, according to Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron – faces up to five years in prison.
SHOT DEAD
Taylor was shot dead when Hankison, Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly were executing a warrant at her apartment.
Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, 27, were asleep at the time of the incident.
Cops were looking for suspect Jamarcus Glover, who allegedly dated Taylor two years ago.
But the man was arrested in a separate raid ten miles away on the same night officers broke into her apartment.
Leaked documents reveal Glover had mail sent to Taylor's address, gave her phone number as his own, and used a car she hired that was later connected to a murder.
But no drugs or cash were found at Taylor's home.
Taylor's boyfriend Walker – who was not the man wanted by cops – fired one shot with his legally held weapon, claiming he thought they were burglars.
A bullet struck Mattingly in the leg, before the three officers fired 32 shots into Taylor's apartment, at least five of which struck Taylor, causing her death.
Gentry said firing Jaynes from the police department was in the best interests of the community.
'SHE LIT UP A ROOM'
Earlier this year, the city of Louisville agree to pay a settlement to Taylor's family of $12 million over a wrongful death lawsuit.
Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, said of her daughter: “She had a whole plan on becoming a nurse and buying a house and then starting a family.
"Breonna had her head on straight, and she was a very decent person.”
She added: "Breonna just loved life, and people gravitated towards her. She lit up a room and had this aura about herself."
Several elements of police reform were also included in the settlement, according to reports.
For months after Taylor was killed, her name has been chanted all over the country – and the world – at mass protests against alleged police brutality, which erupted after the death of George Floyd in police custody.
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The hashtag #JusticeForBreonnaTaylor has also been shared widely on social media, encouraging people to sign a petition calling for the police officers involved to be arrested and charged.
Read More on The US Sun
Six-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton wore a T-shirt in honour of Breonna Taylor on the six-month anniversary of her death after winning the Tuscan Grand Prix at Mugello, Italy.
Hamilton's shirt had "ARREST THE COPS WHO KILLED BREONNA TAYLOR" written on the front and "SAY HER NAME" above a photo of Taylor on the back.
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