Federal prosecutors ask judge to dismiss remaining charges against two ex-Louisville officers in Breonna Taylor case

A request filed six years after the fatal raid

Federal prosecutors on Friday asked a judge to dismiss the remaining federal charges against two former Louisville Metro Police Department officers accused of falsifying information used to obtain the search warrant that led police to Breonna Taylor’s apartment in March 2020.

The filing seeks to end the prosecutions of former Detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany. Prosecutors wrote that, after reviewing the case, they concluded the charges should be dismissed “in the interest of justice.” The judge has not ruled on the request.

How the case reached this point

Jaynes and Meany were charged in federal court in connection with the warrant affidavit used to search Taylor’s home. The warrant, executed late on March 12 and into March 13, 2020, was part of a narcotics investigation focused on a man described by authorities as Taylor’s former boyfriend, who was not at Taylor’s apartment at the time of the raid.

During the entry, Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired one shot, striking an officer in the leg. Officers returned fire, and Taylor, 26, was killed.

In earlier rulings, the presiding federal judge narrowed the most serious allegations against Jaynes and Meany. The court twice concluded that prosecutors had not established a sufficient causal link between the allegedly false statements in the warrant materials and Taylor’s death to sustain certain felony civil-rights charges as originally framed.

Other defendants and outcomes in the federal prosecution

The broader federal case has produced differing outcomes for other former officers:

• Former detective Kelly Goodlett previously pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy related to the warrant affidavit and a subsequent effort to mislead investigators.
• Former officer Brett Hankison was convicted at trial of a federal civil-rights offense tied to shots fired into Taylor’s apartment during the raid and was later sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, followed by supervised release.

What happens next

If the court grants the government’s motion, the dismissal would end the federal case against Jaynes and Meany. If denied, the case would continue toward further pretrial proceedings or trial on any remaining counts.

The judge’s decision will determine whether the prosecutions proceed despite earlier rulings that limited the scope of the most serious allegations.

The filing comes as the Taylor case continues to shape policing and accountability debates in Louisville, where the 2020 killing prompted local policy changes and sustained scrutiny of warrant practices and tactical entries.