More evidence about the Breonna Taylor case has made its way to the public.
On Thursday, Oct. 1, 2020, an investigative report from the Louisville Metro Police Department’s Public Integrity Unit revealed the cops who were involved presented a false narrative about Taylor, according to the Courier-Journal.
Officers were able to obtain a no-knock warrant from Judge Mary Shaw based on the premise that packages of drugs were being sent to Taylor’s apartment. However, the report revealed that a postal inspector for the United States Postal Service told police that no packages were being sent to Taylor’s apartment.
On March 12, an affidavit written by Detective Joshua Jaynes “verified through a US Postal Inspector that Jamarcus Glover has been receiving packages” at Taylor’s apartment. Glover, Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, is an accused drug dealer who is currently incarcerated and facing about 10 years in prison.
Presented with false information, Shaw signed off on a no-knock warrant.
On March 13, three police Officers — Myles Cosgrove, Brett Hankison and Jonathan Mattingly — entered Taylor’s apartment after obtaining the no-knock warrant. The officers fired more than 20 shots, with several hitting and killing Taylor. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, reportedly fired one shot, striking Mattingly in the leg.
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron claimed that Cosgrove fired the fatal shot but was justified after Taylor’s boyfriend fired his 9mm handgun first, striking Mattingly.
“After breaching the door, Sergeant Mattingly was the first and only officer to enter the residence. Sergeant Mattingly identified two individuals standing beside one another at the end of the hall — a male and a female,” Cameron said. “In his statement, he says that the male was holding a gun, arms extended in a shooting stance.”
However, the ballistics report, which was not released until after the grand jury’s decision, concluded that “due to limited markings of comparative value, the 9mm bullet that hit and exited Mattingly was neither identified nor eliminated as having been fired from Walker’s gun.”
Moreover, the entire no-warrant should have been viewed as illegal since it was obtained on a false pretense.
Shaw, the judge who signed off on the warrant, decided not to hold the officers in contempt for providing false information in the affidavit. Instead, she told reporters that she would allow the FBI investigation to unfold.
