The Justice Division on Friday moved to dismiss its legal case in opposition to two former Louisville cops who have been dealing with civil rights costs in reference to the taking pictures demise of Breonna Taylor.
In a court docket submitting Friday, attorneys from the Civil Rights Division stated they’re looking for to dismiss the pending case in opposition to Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany with prejudice, which suggests it couldn’t be revived sooner or later. The decide has not but dominated on the movement.
The submitting was signed by Assistant Lawyer Normal Harmeet Dhillon, Appearing Deputy Assistant Lawyer Normal Robert Keenan and Appearing Legal Chief Katie Neff. No profession prosecutors from the division’s legal part signed the transient.
Breonna Taylor was shot and killed by cops in March 2020 throughout a botched police raid at her residence.
Each Jaynes and Meany have been accused by the Justice Division of aiding and abetting the deprivation of Taylor’s Fourth Modification proper to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures.
The Justice Division alleged that they lied to a Jefferson County state court docket decide with a view to acquire the warrant for Taylor’s residence.
Jaynes was accused of drafting a warrant affidavit based mostly on each affirmative lies and lies by omission, whereas prosecutors alleged Meany signed off on the affidavit, although he knew it was based mostly on lies.
A federal court docket on two separate events in 2023 and once more in 2025 struck the Justice Division’s felony allegations in opposition to the 2 former officers, lowering them to misdemeanor color-of-law violations as an alternative.
In its submitting, the Civil Rights Division cited the 2 failed makes an attempt by the federal government to acquire felony enhancements for the color-of-law costs as a consider its resolution to dismiss the case.
“In gentle of the foregoing proceedings, the Authorities undertook an additional assessment of this matter. Based mostly on that assessment, and within the train of its discretion, the federal government has decided that this case ought to be dismissed within the curiosity of justice,” the Civil Rights Division attorneys wrote of their submitting.
The submitting, nevertheless, didn’t point out the truth that different felony costs within the case have been additionally nonetheless pending.
Meany was charged with making false statements throughout his interview with the FBI, a felony that has a statutory most of 5 years in jail.
Jaynes, in the meantime, additionally confronted costs of conspiracy and falsification of information. The conspiracy cost stemmed from allegations he and one other detective sought to cowl up the false warrant affidavit after Taylor’s demise.
“Kyle is extremely grateful for at the moment’s filings. He’s trying ahead to placing this matter behind him and shifting ahead along with his life,” stated Michael Denbow, an lawyer for Meany.
An lawyer for Jaynes couldn’t be instantly reached for remark.
Attorneys for Taylor’s household Ben Crump and Lonita Baker stated in an announcement, “”Breonna Taylor all the time deserved greater than the scraps of justice she bought. Now, even these could also be additional stripped away. The Division of Justice’s transfer to dismiss these remaining costs is deeply painful for Breonna Taylor’s household and it sends a chilling message in regards to the worth of Black lives in our nation.”
Taylor’s mom, Tamika Palmer, stated in a publish on Fb that she felt “excessive disappointment in Trump and the Division of Justice.”
“Their cellphone name at the moment informing me that costs in opposition to the police are being dropped whereas implying they’ve helped me is completely disrespectful,” she wrote. “That is the primary time I’ve heard from them since they took over and it is clear they haven’t served me or Breonna effectively.”
NAACP president Derrick Johnson stated in an announcement, “We’re sickened. As soon as once more, Trump’s Justice Division is trampling over our civil rights and leaving impacted communities out within the chilly.”
This marks the most recent in a string of high-profile color-of-law instances that the Civil Rights Division has dismissed or sought lighter sentences for since final 12 months.
Keenan, a longtime federal prosecutor within the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Central District of California who’s now a part of Dhillon’s senior management crew, has been concerned in a lot of the issues.
In a single extreme drive case in Los Angeles, he requested a decide to dismiss felony convictions in opposition to a neighborhood deputy sheriff — a transfer that prompted a number of prosecutors on the case to resign in protest.
He additionally requested a federal decide in Louisville final 12 months to condemn former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison — who was convicted at trial for violating Taylor’s rights — to serve simply at some point in jail.
The decide rejected his request and sentenced Hankison to 33 months.
Earlier this month CBS reported that he’s one in every of two employees members from the Civil Rights Division now assigned to research the taking pictures demise of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
