Court exonerates two ex-cops in Breonna Taylor's death, blames boyfriend
Officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany were indicted by the DOJ in the controversial death for falsifying information to justify the raid that ended in her death.
Aerial view of street art of Breonna Taylor.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson ruled that Breonna Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was responsible for the 26-year-old's death in 2020. The ruling exonerated two former Louisville Police Department officers, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany.
The officers were charged in 2022 with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor's home in the raid that resulted in her death, and then lying to cover it up. Although neither was present at the deadly episode, the Justice Department noted that they were liable for putting Taylor at risk.
The judge ruled that Walker's decision to fire his gun at the officers when they entered the home was the "the legal cause of Taylor’s death," CNN reports, and not the raid: "There is no direct link between the warrantless entry and Taylor’s death."
"[Kenneth Walker’s] decision to open fire, as alleged and argued, was the natural and probable consequence of executing the warrant at 12:45 a.m. on ‘an unsuspecting household.’ That decision prompted the return fire which hit and killed Taylor," the judge explained.
Simpson dropped felony charges against the former officers, mitigating potential penalties. Both still face other charges in the same case.
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