LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The former Louisville police officer who fatally shot Breonna Taylor has a new police job in a county northeast of the city.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Saturday the hiring of Myles Cosgrove, who was fired from the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department in January 2021 for violating use-of-force procedures and failing to wear a body camera during the raid on Taylor’s apartment, ABC affiliate. THAT of Louisville reported.
A protest was planned in Carroll County on Monday in response to his hiring.
Investigators said Cosgrove fired 16 rounds into the apartment after Taylor’s front door was breached during a narcotics raid on March 13, 2020. Thinking an intruder was forcibly entering, Taylor’s boyfriend fired with a gun to the officers. Officer Jonathan Mattingly was hit in the leg and officers returned fire, killing Taylor in the aisle of him.
An FBI investigation determined that Cosgrove and Mattingly beat Taylor, a 26-year-old black woman, and that Cosgrove likely fired the fatal shot. No officers were indicted by a 2020 state grand jury in Taylor’s death, and a two-year investigation by the FBI it also cleared Cosgrove and Mattingly of any charges.
The FBI investigation found that other senior officers had crafted a flawed drug warrant that contained false information about Taylor. U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland said in August that the officers who went to Taylor’s apartment with the warrant «were not involved in drafting the warrant affidavit and did not know it was false.»
Carroll County deputy chief Robert Miller said Cosgrove was acquitted by the state grand jury over his employment with the tiny Kentucky sheriff’s department.
In November, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council voted not to revoke Cosgrove’s state peace officer certification. That meant he could apply for other law enforcement jobs in the state.
Brett Hankison, an officer who fired but did not hit anyone during the raid, was found not guilty by a jury on charges of wanton endangerment.
But he is still awaiting trial on federal civil rights charges for his actions during the raid, as are two other officers who participated in obtaining the warrant. A third officer pleaded guilty to conspiracy in order making.