Louisville sergeant accused of lying to get the warrant to raid Breonna Taylor’s apartment, terminated

One of the officers involved in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home, Sergeant Kyle Meany, has been terminated from the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Sergeant Kyle Meany terminated

On Friday, Aug. 19, Chief Erika Shields released a statement confirming the termination of Sgt. Kyle Meany.

“I made the decision to terminate Sergeant Kyle Meany after careful consideration and not with ease,” she wrote in a statement obtained by CBS News. “I fully respect the judicial process and realize Sergeant Meany has yet to be heard before a jury of his peers.”

She continued, “That being said, he is facing multiple federal charges after a lengthy investigation by the DOJ. As an employer, the character of our organization is paramount, and it is not reasonable to expect continued employment under such conditions.”

Breonna Taylor killed in raid

On March 13, 2020, Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was shot and killed in her apartment when police officers performed a botched raid as she was asleep with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker. The officers fired 22 shots into the apartment, one of which struck Taylor in the chest.

Federally charged

According to court documents, Meany and two other officers, former Detective Joshua Jaynes and Detective Kelly Goodlett, were charged by the US Department of Justice on August 4 with submitting a false affidavit to search Taylor’s home ahead of the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department’s raid, and then working with other officers to create a “false cover story in an attempt to escape responsibility for their roles in preparing the warrant affidavit that contained false information,” according to court documents.

“Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department,” Shields wrote in a letter to Meany to begin the termination process last week. The letter cited his federal case as grounds for dismissal for violating LMPD’s policy regarding “Obedience to Rules and Regulations.”

“Your conduct has adversely affected the morale, operations and/or efficiency of the department,” Shields also wrote, using standard language sometimes used in termination letters for other LMPD personnel. “… Your conduct has severely damaged the image of our department within the community.”

Meany can appeal his termination to the Police Merit Board, which has a track record of rarely overturning firing decisions.