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The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested a federal judge to dismiss charges against two former police officers involved in the raid that led to the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, in her home.
Former detective Joshua Jaynes and former sergeant Kyle Meany were accused of using false information to obtain a search warrant to enter Taylor's residence in March 2020.
Prosecutors have asked the court to dismiss misdemeanor charges against the Louisville officers. These charges were initially more serious felony counts but were downgraded by a judge.
Tamika Palmer, Taylor's mother, expressed her deep disappointment with US President Donald Trump and the DOJ in a social media post.
The request to dismiss the charges comes just a week after the sixth anniversary of Taylor's death.
In their filing, the DOJ argued that dismissing the case is "in the interest of justice." DOJ lawyers are seeking to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning it cannot be reopened in the future. A judge must still approve the motion.
In August 2025, a federal judge downgraded the felony charges against Meany and Jaynes, stating the government could not "attribute Taylor's death to the lack of a warrant supported by probable cause."
On Facebook, Tamika Palmer wrote: "Their phone call today informing me that charges against the police are being dropped while implying they have helped me is utterly disrespectful. This is the first time I've heard from them since they took over and it's clear they have not served me or Breonna well."
Breonna Taylor became a prominent figure in the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 following her death and the police killing of George Floyd that same year.
She was killed after officers in plain clothes executed a "no-knock" search warrant at her home. They entered her apartment in the early morning while she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep.
Authorities suspected Taylor's former boyfriend was using her home to hide narcotics, but no drugs were found on the property.
Walker fired a single shot when the police knocked down the door, hitting officer John Mattingly in the leg. Walker said the officers did not identify themselves as police, and he believed they were intruders. The three officers returned fire, shooting 32 bullets into the apartment and killing Taylor.
Brett Hankison was the only officer charged and convicted in connection with the raid.
In 2024, a federal jury found Hankison guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights by using excessive force. Although the maximum sentence was life in prison, after the Trump administration requested a one-day sentence, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
