Breonna Taylor: Two police officers sacked over deadly shooting

Detectives were reportedly informed last week of the decision

Two police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor have been fired, the police department in Louisville has said. 

Several other officers were also sanctioned for their roles in the botched police raid, which led to the 26-year old’s death in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, in March last year, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. 

Louisville detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes, who were fired on Tuesday, became the latest members of the police department to be dismissed for their roles in the fatal police shooting of Taylor.

They were reportedly told by the Louisville Metro Police department last week of the decision, which was announced on Wednesday.

The pair are the second and third officers to be fired for their role in the raid on Ms Taylor’s home, following the dismissal of Brett Hankison in June, who was said to have "blindly" fired 10 rounds into her apartment.

Ms Taylor, an emergency room technician who had previously served as an EMT, was asleep with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when officers forced their way into her home in the early hours of 13 March. They were serving a no-knock search warrant and believed the pair were selling drugs. 

Wallace opened fire on the officers, believing the apartment was being broken into. But, in response, the detectives fired back, fatally killing Ms Taylor in the process. 

The FBI later concluded that Mr Cosgrove, one of the officers fired on Tuesday, was responsible for firing the shot that killed Ms Taylor. 

He was also found to have violated procedures for use of force and failing to use a body camera during the raid, the Courier Journal reported. 

Mr Jaynes, the officer who secured the search warrant for Taylor's apartment, was meanwhile found to have violated the police department’s policy for truthfulness and search warrant preparation.

Still, no criminal charges have been brought against any Louisville Metro Police Department officers for the fatal shooting.

Along with the Minneapolis killing of George Floyd in May last year, Ms Taylor’s death ignited large protesters against systemic racism for many months. 

Former Atlanta police chief Erika Shields, who stepped down after one of her officers fatally shot Rayshard Brooks weeks after Floyd’s death, will take over as the leader of Louisville's force. 

In an email to Louisville police colleagues, Mr Cosgrove last week criticised the force’s leadership for succumbing to "political pressures," and said leaders "aren't afraid to perform hatchet jobs on you either."

Both Mr Cosgrove and Mr Jaynes are able to appeal their contract terminations, according to the Courier Journal.