The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday upheld the termination of former Louisville police Det. Myles Cosgrove, who was fired for violating the department’s use of force policy when he fatally shot Breonna Taylor in March 2020.
The court unanimously agreed with former Chief Yvette Gentry who fired Cosgrove in January 2021 for failing to properly “identify a target” or justify the number of shots fired given he never saw a gun and could only see a shadowy figure.
Cosgrove also violated the department’s use of force policy for failing to use a body camera.
The Louisville Police merit board and a Jefferson Circuit Court judge previously upheld Gentry’s findings and decision.
“It is clear that Cosgrove knew the flashing lights he witnessed in Ms. Taylor’s apartment were coming from gunfire; however, substantiated evidence supported the determination that Cosgrove was not clear on who he was firing at and whether there were multiple people in the line of fire,” according to the appellate court ruling.
Gentry testified in front of the board that in three different interviews with investigators, Cosgrove could not articulate a reason for the number of shots fired or justify that he saw a threat where deadly force was necessary.
While Cosgrove argued he did not fire “wildly,” the appellate court noted evidence in the case concluded some of his shots ended up in other parts of Taylor’s home.
Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a shot at police, hitting Sgt. John Mattingly. Walker said he believed police were intruders breaking into the apartment before 1 a.m.
Police shot and killed 26 year-old Taylor in the hallway of her apartment during an undercover raid on her home on Springfield Drive as part of a series of raids elsewhere that targeted narcotics trafficking.
No drugs or money were found in her home.
The FBI determined Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office hired Cosgrove as a sheriff’s deputy last year.
Source: WDRB
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