Federal Judge Drops Most Serious Charges Against Ex-LMPD Officers in Breonna Taylor Case

A federal judge has dismissed the most serious felony charges against former Louisville Metro Police officers Kyle Meany and Joshua Jaynes related to the 2020 fatal raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment. The dismissed charges accused the officers of violating Taylor's civil rights by falsifying information on the search warrant used in the raid. Judge Charles Simpson ruled that Taylor's death was legally caused by her boyfriend's shooting at police, which led to police returning fire, and not by the officers' alleged actions with the warrant. Despite dismissing the top charges, Meany still faces a felony for lying to the FBI, and Jaynes faces conspiracy and falsification of records charges. The dismissal follows a previous 2024 ruling by the same judge that also dropped civil rights charges, although a superseding indictment was later issued. Another former officer, Brett Hankison, was sentenced to prison for violating Taylor's civil rights during the raid.