Louisville police move to fire officers in Breonna Taylor case who got warrant, fired fatal shot

Det. Joshua Jaynes and Det. Myles Cosgrove both received notices that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department intends to terminate their employment.

A man pauses at the memorial of Breonna Taylor before a march in Louisville, Ky, on Sept. 25, 2020.Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
SHARE THIS —

The Louisville, Kentucky, officer who obtained the no-knock warrant and the officer who fired the fatal bullet in the raid of the home of Breonna Taylor both received notice on Tuesday that the police department intends to fire them.

Det. Joshua Jaynes was informed that the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department intends to terminate his employment, a department spokesperson confirmed to NBC News, and a lawyer for Det. Myles Cosgrove confirmed he received a letter of termination from the department.

Officers still have the right to a pre-termination hearing before the are officially fired, the spokesperson said.

Jaynes had written in a sworn affidavit submitted to a Jefferson County judge that he had "verified through a U.S. Postal Inspector" that Taylor’s former boyfriend Jamarcus Glover "has been receiving packages" at Taylor's home.

NBC News affiliate WAVE obtained the letter sent to Jaynes by LMPD Interim Chief Yvette Gentry, which noted that the detective "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.

Thomas Clay, attorney for Jaynes, told WAVE that the situation was not grounds to justify his client's termination.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

"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," he said.

Glover had been the target of a narcotics investigation and detectives raided Taylor’s apartment in March to obtain evidence in the case. An internal investigation by the department revealed that Jaynes never spoke to a postal inspector.

Taylor was killed by police during the March 13 raid on her apartment, in which police found no drugs or money.

Cosgrove was one of the officers who participated in the raid and who fired the shot that killed Taylor, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in September.

Cosgrove was the subject of a fundraiser in September seeking $75,000 to purchase the rest of his service time "so that he can retire and continue to focus on the safety of his family."