Officer in Taylor case fights dismissal move

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — At least one Kentucky police officer connected to the fatal shooting of a Black woman, Breonna Taylor, is fighting a police move to terminate his employment.

An attorney for Louisville Metro Police detective Joshua Jaynes said his client hasn’t done anything wrong and shouldn’t be disciplined in connection with a police raid in March that led to Taylor’s death. The shooting of the 26yearold woman in her Louisville home sparked months of protests amid national demonstrations over racial injustice and police misconduct.

“I’m very troubled by the chief’s actions here, and I hope that we can challenge those proposed actions successfully,” attorney Thomas Clay said.

A pretermination hearing for Jaynes, originally set for Thursday, has been rescheduled for Monday, Clay said.

The police department sent pretermination letters to Jaynes and Officer Myles Cosgrove, news outlets reported. Jaynes sought the noknock search warrant that led officers to Tayor’s apartment and Cosgrove fired the fatal shot during the raid, authorities have said.

Police Chief Yvette Genry levied two charges against Jaynes: that he wasn’t at the right location when the search warrant was executed and that he wasn’t truthful in an affidavit seeking the warrant, Clay said. He disputes both allegations.

Officers were serving a narcotics warrant on March 13 when they shot Taylor, but no drugs or cash were found in her home. Taylor was an emergency medical worker who had settled in for the night when police busted through her door.