Key federal charges dropped against former LMPD officers behind Breonna Taylor warrant

Josh Wood, Rachel Smith, Lucas Aulbach, Louisville Courier Journal

Two former Louisville Metro Police officers federally charged over using false information to secure a warrant that led to the botched 2020 raid that killed Breonna Taylor had their charges reduced by a federal judge on Thursday.

In August 2022, the pair were federally charged in connection with preparing and approving a search warrant affidavit while, investigators allege, knowing the affidavit contained false and misleading statements, omitted key facts and was not supported by probable cause.

U.S. District Court Senior Judge Charles Simpson III dismissed felony deprivation of rights under the color of law charges against former detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany in an order Thursday.

While the original indictment stated the offense involved the use of a dangerous weapon and resulted in Taylor’s death, which would have bumped up the potential penalty to life in prison, Simpson ruled that part of the indictment be stricken. 

Now, if convicted of that count, Meany and Jaynes stand to be sentenced to no more than a year in prison.

The Courier Journal explains how the judge thought Taylor’s boyfriend was responsible for her death.

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