Justice department seeks to dismiss charges against ex-officers over Breonna Taylor raid
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal judge to dismiss charges against two former police officers involved in the raid that resulted in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a black woman, in her home.
Former detective Joshua Jaynes and former sergeant Kyle Meany were alleged to have used false information to obtain a search warrant to enter Taylor’s home in March 2020.
Prosecutors asked the court to dismiss misdemeanour charges against the Louisville officers, which were initially more severe felony counts, but later downgraded by a judge.
In a post on social media, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said she was extremely disappointed in US President Donald Trump and the DOJ.
The request comes just a week after the six-year anniversary of Taylor’s death.
In the filing, the DOJ argued the case should be dismissed altogether “in the interest of justice”.
DOJ lawyers said they are seeking to dismiss the pending case with prejudice, which means it could not be revived in the future. A judge still has to sign off on the motion.
In August 2025, a federal judge downgraded the felony charges against Meany and Jaynes, arguing the government could not “attribute Taylor’s death to the lack of a warrant supported by probable cause”.
In a post on Facebook, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said: “Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly disrespectful.
“This is the first time I’ve heard from them since they took over and it’s clear they have not served me or Breonna well.”
Taylor became a face of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 following her death and the police killing of George Floyd, who was murdered during a police arrest that same year.
She was killed after officers in plain clothes executed a “no-knock” search warrant at her home. They burst into her apartment in the early morning hours while she and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, were asleep.
Authorities believed Taylor’s former boyfriend was using her home to hide narcotics. No drugs were found on the property.
Walker fired a single shot when the police knocked the door down, hitting one officer, John Mattingly, in the leg. Walker said the officers did not announce themselves as police, and he thought they were intruders. The three officers returned fire, shooting 32 bullets into the flat, killing Taylor.
Brett Hankison was the only officer charged and convicted in connection with the botched raid.
In 2024, a federal jury found Hankinson – who fired shots during the raid – guilty of violating Taylor’s civil rights with excessive force. The maximum sentence was life in prison – but after the Trump administration asked the judge to give him a one-day sentence, he was given 33 months in prison.
Another former officer, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to conspiring with a colleague to falsify the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for Taylor’s home and to cover up their actions after her death. She has not yet been sentenced.
By BBC News