The Louisville police officer who wrote the affidavit for the search warrant that officers used in the botched raid that ended in Breonna Taylor’s killing is appealing his firing.
Former detective Joshua Jaynes wrote in the search warrant affidavit that he had verified through a U.S. postal inspector that Taylor had been receiving packages from her ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover, an alleged drug trafficker, at her apartment.
But, Taylor hadn’t been receiving packages from Glover, according to a U.S. postal inspector. And it was Jonathan Mattingly, one of the officers who fired his gun in the Taylor raid, who asked the Shively Police Department to inquire with the postal inspector about whether Taylor had been receiving packages for Glover, due to "bad blood" between the postal agency and the Louisville Metro Police Department. Mattingly relayed the answer to Jaynes. Mattingly has said that he told Jaynes that Taylor wasn’t receiving packages from Glover. Jaynes has said that Mattingly told him that Taylor was receiving packages from Glover.
Former Louisville Metro police chief Yvette Gentry, who fired Jaynes in January, said that Jaynes was untruthful in obtaining the search warrant.
Jaynes is appealing the Louisville Police Merit Board’s decision to uphold his firing, on the grounds of the collective knowledge doctrine. Collective knowledge, according to the appeal, “applies to communications between law enforcement officers who can rely on each other’s statements without reservation or verification.”
The appeal, which was filed in Jefferson Circuit Court on Friday, also says that the Louisville Police Merit Board’s findings and order included false facts and that the board’s attorney improperly exceeded their role.
In response to the Louisville Police Merit Board's decision in June, Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer said in a statement, “It is my hope that other officers take this moment and realize that there are repercussions for their actions. Police officers cannot take shortcuts that put lives in danger.”
Taylor was 26 when she was shot and killed in her apartment in March of 2020. Two other Louisville officers have been fired in her killing: Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove, who both fired their weapons during the raid. Hankison also faces criminal charges for shooting into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment during the raid. Mattingly announced in April that he’d be retiring from the force.
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