Louisville, Kentucky– A federal judge dismissed charges against two former Louisville police officers who… Charged with forging an arrest warrant She used to enter Breonna Taylor’s apartment the night police shot her to death.
U.S. District Judge Charles Simpson issued a one-page ruling Friday dismissing charges against Joshua Gaines and Kyle Meaney, two former officers involved in drafting Taylor’s memo.
Federal prosecutors asked the judge last week to drop charges against the former officers “in the interest of justice.” Prosecutors noted that The court had already removed some criminal charges v. Gaines and Meaney in the earlier proceedings.
Former U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland announced the charges against Gaines and Meaney in 2022 at a high-profile news conference in Louisville, where Garland said “Breonna Taylor should still be alive today.” Garland said the officers at the scene who shot Taylor, 26, were unaware of the “false and misleading statements” in the arrest warrant.
Taylor’s boyfriend fired one shot at police after they smashed down her front door with a battering ram. Police returned fire, striking Taylor several times in her hallway. Her killing, along with the death of George Floyd in Minnesota, sparked weeks of racial justice protests in the summer of 2020.
Gaines was facing charges of conspiracy, falsifying records and misdemeanor civil rights violations. Meaney was facing charges for allegedly lying to federal investigators.
The arrest warrant used to enter Taylor’s apartment claimed she was receiving packages for a suspected drug dealer and her ex-boyfriend. Gaines confirmed through the postal service that the ex-boyfriend’s packages were headed to Taylor’s apartment, the document said. Investigators later learned that Gaines had not confirmed this information with the postal inspector. Meaney, a former police sergeant, signed the arrest warrant.
Gaines was fired by Louisville police in 2021 for not being honest about the arrest warrant. Minnie was fired after being charged in 2022.