Officer who killed Breonna Taylor works in nearby sheriff’s office

A former officer with the Louisville Metro Police Department implicated in the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor is back on duty, this time at a neighboring Kentucky law enforcement agency.

According to WLKY News, Myles Cosgrove joined the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy on Thursday, and the new recruit is already on active duty.

“We’re going to give him a chance,” said Carroll County Chief Deputy Rob Miller, WKLY reported.

A photo of Breonna Taylor was seen in July among photos of women who have lost their lives as a result of violence during the 2nd Annual Defend Black Women March at Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington. Myles Cosgrove, one of the officers involved in Taylor’s death, returned to policing last week. (Photo: Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Frontline Action Hub)

Then-interim Chief Yvette Gentry fired Cosgrove from LMPD in 2021 for violating department policies the night Taylor — a 26-year-old emergency room technician who lived with her partner, Kenneth Walker — was killed. 

On March 13, 2020, officers executed a “no-knock” drug search warrant at the couple’s apartment while they were asleep. Walker shot at police, believing they were intruders.

Police then fired 32 rounds, 16 of which came from Cosgrove’s weapon during the botched raid. Officials said Cosgrove’s shot killed Taylor, who was struck five times.

Three other former LMPD officers involved in the deadly raid have been accused of lying in order to obtain the search warrant. Those three ex-officers, plus a fourth whose bullets went into the home of Taylor’s neighbors, are facing federal charges.

Miller noted that to the sheriff’s office, Cosgrove – who reportedly faced his own lawsuit for excessive force on the job in 2006 – was executing the search warrant at Walker’s home as directed. They also took into account the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council’s decision not to revoke his police certification.

According to HuffPost.com, Miller said the sheriff’s office decided to recruit Cosgrove based on his technical expertise and extensive experience as a police officer, which they believe would benefit a small department like Carroll County’s.

In response to a question on hiring Cosgrove and potential community backlash, Miller said the department is aware “there will be opinions on both sides of the equation.”

“We think he will help reduce the flow of drugs in our area and reduce property crimes,” Miller told the Louisville Courier-Journal, HuffPost reported. “We felt like he was a good candidate to help us in our county.”

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