Louisville Police Department Finally Fires Two Officers in Breonna Taylor Shooting

A Louisville Metro Police detective who fatally shot Breonna Taylor in March was fired Tuesday, the same day he slammed the department’s leadership in an email for succumbing to “political pressures” and warned his colleagues they “aren’t afraid to perform hatchet jobs on you either.”

In an email apparently sent to all Louisville Metro Police officers at 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, Myles Cosgrove wrote he is “being terminated due to the political pressures involved with the Breonna Taylor investigation” and asked his colleagues to “think about that the next time you put on the uniform and badge.” “For those of you still doing real police work, it’s just a matter of time till you (too) will be a sacrificial lamb. I plead with you, do nothing,” he added. Authorities say Cosgrove was the officer who fired the shot that killed Taylor when police entered the 26-year-old’s home with a “no-knock” warrant. Cosgrove and Detectives Joshua Jaynes were fired from LMPD, effective on Tuesday, in connection with Taylor’s death. Last week, Cosgrove received a letter from LMPD interim Chief Yvette Gentry revealing he is was facing termination for violating the department’s use of force and body camera policies, while Jaynes was found in violation of the department’s truthfulness and search warrant preparation policies.

On Wednesday, the LMPD announced Erika Shields, the former Atlanta police chief who stepped down in the wake of the Rayshard Brooks shooting, will take over as chief on Jan. 19. Despite her rocky exit from Atlanta, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said in a statement that Shields is an “experienced, progressive, reform-minded leader.”