Officer who fired fatal shot starts online fundraiser so he can retire

‘Safety has proven difficult to come by for Myles and his family,’ fundraising creator’s claim

The Louisville detective who Kentucky’s attorney general said fired the shot that killed Breonna Taylor is attempting to raise $75,000 (£58,360) so he can retire from the force.

An online fundraiser set up on GiveSendGo.com is seeking to raise the money for officer Myles Cosgrove, so he can purchase the rest of his service time and “can retire and continue to focus on the safety of his family.”

In the description of the campaign, which has so far raised $8,659 (£6,737), the creators said Mr Cosgrove and his family have been “continually at-risk over the past few months,” since his involvement in Taylor’s death and the subsequent protests and public outrage.

“The family of Detective Myles Cosgrove, an officer involved in the tragic Breonna Taylor case, is starting this fund in order to help secure the safety of Myles and his immediate family going forward,” the post reads.  

“It has recently become clear that it will be impossible for Myles to safely return to his position serving the community with the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD),” the creators added.

Taylor, an emergency medical technician, was shot at least six times by police after they broke down her door in a drug raid on 13 May, but no narcotics were found in the residence. The use of no-knock warrants have since been banned by Louisville's Metro Council.

The police said Taylor was inadvertently shot in the crossfire during the raid, but protests have taken place across the US for the last few months, which have called for charges to be made against the officers.

Last week, a grand jury cleared Mr Cosgrove, alongside the other officers involved in the shooting, John Mattingly and Brett Hankison, and argued Taylor’s boyfriend opened fire on the police first.

However, Mr Hankinson has been charged with first-degree “wanton endangerment” for firing rounds into a neighbouring house. Mr Hankinson pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Delivering the grand jury's decision last week, Kentucky attorney general Daniel Cameron said state law “bars us from seeking charges in Breonna Taylor’s death,” but Taylor's family have described the proceedings as a “sham”.

The fundraising page for Mr Cosgrove reads: “Any situation that results in the loss of human life is and should be considered a monumental travesty.

“As time has passed, as outrage has been made known, and as protests only continue to grow, it is our ongoing stance that creating a conversation which is both safe and rational is the only way to find a solution.”

The posts’ creators said: “We must create an atmosphere of progress for everyone,” and added: “However, amidst this conversation, safety has proven difficult to come by for Myles and his family and we are, at this point, emotionally concerned for all parties involved.”

They wrote that “most people don't know what it's like to have a weapon fired at you. Even fewer know what it's like, after all of that, to have the entire world turn on you with pure vitriol for simply performing your job exactly as you were trained to do by your superiors.”

The Courier-Journal reported that Mr Cosgrove has not yet filed any retirement paperwork, and in August, a police department spokesperson told them that all three officers involved were provided with security outside their homes.