Breonna Taylor may never receive the justice she and her family deserve, but the fallout from the March 13 botched drug raid in Louisville, Ky., continues as two more officers involved in the raid are set to be fired. Until now, officer Brett Hankinson was the only officer to be fired and to face criminal charges related to the raid. He’s still the only one facing a charge—and not a meaningful charge at that—but detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes will get matching pink slips due to their involvement in the raid that should never have happened.
The New York Times reports that Cosgrove and Jaynes both received notices of termination from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department on Tuesday. Cosgrove fired the fatal shot that killed Taylor, according to an FBI ballistics report, and Jaynes—who didn’t actually participate in the raid—obtained the search warrant.
Jaynes swore in an affidavit that he personally verified through a postal inspector that Taylor’s former boyfriend Jamarcus Glover—who was the target of the drug investigation—had been receiving packages at Taylor’s home. According to NBC News, LMPD Interim Chief Yvette Gentry wrote in Jaynes’ notice of termination that he “lied when he swore” he spoke to a postal inspector.
“Detective Jaynes did not have contact with a US Postal Inspector, he received the information from Sergeant Mattingly, who got it from a Shively Police Officer,” Gentry wrote, NBC reports.
Of course, Jaynes’ attorney, Thomas Clay, believes that his client’s lie shouldn’t be grounds for termination and that he’s being scapegoated.
“LMPD and the mayor’s office have totally botched this whole investigation, and I think they’re looking for people to throw under the bus and I think Joshua Jaynes, unfortunately, is one of those individuals who is placed in the path of this bus,” Clay told WAVE 3. Cosgrove’s lawyer, Jarrod Beck, confirmed to the Times that his client also received a termination letter Tuesday but declined to comment further.
According to NBC, both men will have an opportunity to fight their firings in a pre-termination hearing before their outings become official.