2 spies involved in Bryo Taylor raid are fired

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) – Louisville has hired the former Atlanta chief to head its police department after months of unrest over the fatal shooting of Bryo Taylor, and fired two more officers involved in the deadly raid.

It was announced on Wednesday by city officials that they would disclose their choice to lead the department. Louisville Mayor Greg Fisher said Erica Shields was tasked with selecting the new chief. He would be the fourth man to head the department in Kentucky’s largest city after Taylor was shot by officers serving warrants in March.

“I am committed to starting my work here with a focus on rebuilding the community trust I believe was already erasing before the murder of Bryo Taylor,” Shields said. It also promised to tackle gun violence in the city, which had a record 173 homicide in 2020.

“The past year showed that we in law enforcement have a long way to go,” said Shields, who starts the job on January 19.

Confidence has erupted between police and many of the city’s black community since Taylor’s death, which sparked months of protests, police reforms, and the firing of the city’s longtime chief, Steve Conrad. Two interim heads, including the first black woman in the department, have worked since Conrad was fired in June.

“We all think Chief Shields was the number one man,” said David James, a former Louisville police officer and president of the city’s Metro Council. “She just headed upstairs.”

Shields served for 25 years in Atlanta, including more than three years in chief, which ended when he resigned in June after Atlanta officers shot a black man in a restaurant parking lot.

Shields said she was “sick” of the shooting of Rashard Brooks. He said Wednesday that living in Atlanta as a major would distract him, so he decided to step down.

Among Louisville people who might be upset about her hiring, she said she would “just ask that people pull back, take time to see what I’ve accomplished, what I believe in and I How to lead the department. “

date. Miles Cosgrove, who shot Taylor and Date. On March 13, Joshua Janes, who was looking for a warrant to conduct drug raids, was informed of his absconding on Tuesday. Officer Brett Hankinson was indicted in September last year by a grand jury on charges of eradicating Taylor’s neighbors with bullets that moved into her home and adjoining apartment.

26-year-old Black Emergency Medical Technician Taylor was shot and killed as officers attempted to serve a no-knock search warrant. None of the three white officers who raided Taylor’s house were indicted by a grand jury for his death.

Investigators said Cosgrove fired 16 rounds at the apartment after the front door broke and Taylor’s boyfriend fired at him. Federal ballistics experts said they believe the shots Taylor hit came from Cogrove.

Interim Police Chief Yvette Gentry wrote that Cosgrove “failed to properly identify a target” when it was fired, according to media reports of the letter, which has not been released.

The Jaynes were not at the scene on the night of the shooting, but demanded a warrant that sent police to Taylor’s home. Gentry said that Jens lied about how he obtained some information about Taylor in the warrant.

In an Louisville police internal investigation, Janes violated department procedures for preparing search warrants and veracity. Janes admitted in a May interview with Louisville police investigators that he had not personally verified that a drug smuggling suspect, Jamarcus Glover, was receiving mail at Taylor’s apartment, even though he had previously given an affidavit I said that he was. Jaynes said he relied instead on information from a fellow officer.

Jaynes and Cosgrove have been on administrative reassignment, along with another officer who was in the raid, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly. He was shot in the leg by Taylor’s boyfriend, who said he believed an intruder was entering the house. In October Mattingly said he intended to retire from the department.

In September, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who played the role of special prosecutor in the case, said Cosgrove and Mattingly were not charged with Taylor’s murder because they worked to protect themselves. The decision disappointed and angered those who have been demanding justice for Taylor for six months, and protesters vowed to stay on the streets until all the officers involved were fired or fired on someone He was charged with murder.

Three grand jewelers, speaking anonymously, have since come forward to say that Cameron did not allow the grand jury to consider home-related charges against authorities for Taylor’s death. Three grand gamblers said they believed they would have made criminal charges against the officers if given the opportunity.

For months Taylor’s name has been a rally cry for activists protesting the extraordinary killing of black men and women. Famous musicians, actors, athletes and politicians have called for the arrest of the officials.