Still Little Justice for Breonna Taylor
In the current flurry of media headlines about Trump’s unauthorized “war” on Iran, rising gas prices, and all-things-Epstein, it is likely that you missed news reports that the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) seeks to dismiss federal civil rights charges against former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers involved in the killing of certified medical technician Breonna Taylor in her home in 2020.
Last month, the DOJ filed a motion to dismiss misdemeanor charges against former Det. Joshua James and former Sgt. Kyle Meany, who initially faced felony charges for allegedly providing false information for a no-knock warrant used to conduct the raid.
In an interview with ABC News, Tamika Palmer, Taylor’s mother, said she is “mad and confused.” Lonita Baker, one of the family’s lawyers, added, “We know absolutely nothing about why they are moving to dismiss the charges. They did not communicate that with Ms. Palmer until Friday, one hour before the filing ….
“What we do know is that Joshua James is guilty of lying to secure a search warrant. He and (former officer) Kelly Goodlett, who already plead guilty, did work to cover up what happened. They are guilty of a crime and … should be held accountable. It's very disappointing and disingenuous for the Department of Justice to dismiss these charges.”
Goodlett’s sentencing is scheduled for July 2026.
A Run-down
The DOJ’s request raises an inevitable question: what consequences did the other officers involved in the raid ultimately face?
Brett Hankison, former LMPD detective: In December 2025,although sentenced to 33 months in prison, he was released on his own recognizance pending his appeal.
In November 2024, a federal jury found him guilty of violating Taylor’s civil rights by using excessive force when he fired 10 shots through a sliding glass door and window covered in blinds. None of his bullets struck Taylor.
According to BBC News, “The maximum sentence for the charge was life in prison.”
Myles Cosgrove, former LMPD officer: He fired the fatal shot that killed Taylor, but three years later was hired by another sheriff’s department in Kentucky despite his termination for violating use-of-force procedures. He has not faced criminal charges.
Jonathan Mattingly, former LMPD officer: He was one of three officers who took part in a raid on Taylor's home. That night, Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fearing they were intruders, fired a shot that hit Mattingly on the thigh. The officer fired off six shots. In 2023, he dropped his lawsuit--for emotional distress, assault, and battery--against Walker to “promote healing.”
In February 2026, Mattingly published 12 Seconds in the Dark: A Police Officer's Firsthand Account of the Breonna Taylor Raid, A Police Officer’s Firsthand Account of the Breonna Taylor Raid.
A Historical Pattern
In 2021, City and State, New York media reported “… grand juries rarely charge or convict police officers for the deadly use of force. That pattern is especially pronounced when considering instances of Black people who are killed by police – officers weren’t charged with homicide in the death of Breonna Taylor last year, nor was ex-NYPD Officer Daniel Panteleo indicted in the death of Eric Garner in 2014.”
Criminal justice and policing experts interviewed for the article cite several reasons for the lack of indictments.
Nicolas Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice: “… police officers who kill in the line of duty (are) rarely … charged or convicted of murder or manslaughter … the legal protections afforded to officers make it harder to bring charges against them.”
Clark Neily, senior vice president for legal studies at the Cato Institute: “Prosecutors have a massive conflict of interest in making decisions about whether to pursue criminal charges against the very same police officers whom they depend on to bring them cases …”
Nicole Smith-Futrell, professor of law and co-director of the Defenders Clinic, CUNY School of Law: “The law gives police officers the benefit of the doubt, and the juries and judges …. also tend to defer to police officers.”
In May 2025, Turner wrote that “Trump has taken a “jackhammer to basic police accountability.” He issued an executive order encouraging law enforcement to cause harm without consequences; ended federal oversight of three police departments; revoked a (Biden) directive on policing reforms and eliminated a database of officers with histories of serious misconduct that could prevent them from moving to other departments.
Police Reform: No Longer Leads Public Debate
The killing of George Floyd on May 20, 2020, in Minneapolis, heralded a nationwide outcry for police reform and accountability. In April 2021, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in Floyd’s death. Three other former officers involved in Floyd’s death are serving federal sentences between 5.5 and 9.5 years.
Since then, however, the Trump administration’s war on immigrants, and subsequent public protests over U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer’s brutal tactics and killing of two American citizens, has been the impetus for massive national and international protest, pushing the cause of police reform into the background.
In less politically chaotic times, DOJ’s request to dismiss federal civil rights charges against three LMPD officers involved in the death of Taylor might have ramped up demand for police reform and accountability.
Nonetheless, Taylor’s family continues the fight.
"Breonna Taylor always deserved more than the scraps of justice she got. Now, even those may be further stripped away. The (DOJ)’s move to dismiss these remaining charges is deeply painful for Breonna Taylor's family and it sends a chilling message about the value of Black lives in our country," said Ben Crump and Baker, attorneys for the Taylor family, in a statement.
Photo by Paul Becker, courtesy wikimediacommons
