Justice Department asks to drop charges against police officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death

The Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss charges against two former police officers accused of submitting false information in a search warrant related to the 2020 raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor. In a court brief filed Friday, an attorney for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division noted that the department now believes the case should be dismissed and confirmed that Taylor's family has been informed of the decision. "The Government undertook a further review of this matter. Based on that review, and in the exercise of its discretion, the Government has determined that this case should be dismissed in the interest of justice," the document said.

Federal prosecutors had initially charged the officers, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, in 2022, alleging they misled authorities to obtain a warrant that allowed police to enter Taylor's apartment in Louisville. Both also faced charges of civil rights violations.

Case details

Taylor was killed during a police operation in 2020, when officers executing a warrant entered her apartment while searching for an ex-boyfriend suspected of drug-related activity. The individual was not in the dwelling at the time. During the raid, agents forced entry into the apartment. Taylor's then-boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, believing someone was breaking into the dwelling, fired a single shot from a handgun, wounding an officer. Police returned fire, firing more than 30 rounds into the apartment.

A federal judge had already twice reduced the most serious charges against the two officers from felonies to misdemeanors, most recently in 2025. The final decision on whether to drop the remaining charges now rests with the court, which has not yet issued a ruling.

A former Louisville officer, Brett Hankison, was convicted of a felony civil rights violation in connection with Taylor's death during the raid and sentenced to two years and nine months in prison.