LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Jefferson Circuit Court judge upheld the termination of former Louisville Metro Police Detective Myles Cosgrove, who was fired for violating the department’s use of force policy when he fatally shot Breonna Taylor.

Judge Melissa Bellows ruled Friday that the Louisville Police Merit Board had “substantial evidence” on which to uphold the firing of Cosgrove, who fired 16 shots into Taylor’s apartment during a March 13, 2020, police raid.

In December 2021, the board upheld LMPD’s termination of Cosgrove with a 5-2 vote.

Former chief Yvette Gentry fired Cosgrove in January 2021 for failing to properly “identify a target,” violating the department’s use of force policy and failing to use a body camera. Gentry testified in front of the board that in three different interviews with investigators, Cosgrove could not articulate a reason for the number of shots fired or justify that he saw a threat where deadly force was necessary, given he never saw a gun, heard a shot and only saw a shadowy figure.

“You fire 16 rounds, and they go in three different directions, and you say you don’t hear and you’re not seeing” a specific threat, Gentry told the merit board. “I didn’t have the confidence” to keep him.

Bellows ruled LMPD and the merit board had enough evidence to justify the firing. 

“Even normal citizens must exercise the ‘highest degree of care’ in ascertaining whether they are shooting at a legitimate target,” Bellows wrote. “Cosgrove seems to be arguing that he should be held to a less stringent standard than an ordinary Kentucky resident, despite having considerable more legal privileges. A normal citizen who violated these principles could be subject to criminal liability.”

Cosgrove was not among four former officers charged in the Taylor raid.

Attorney Scott Miller, who represents Cosgrove, told the board that the former detective saw a muzzle flash, former Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly fall to the ground and a figure in the hallway. He had to make a split-second, life-or-death decision, Miller said.

“He reasonably believed there was a threat,” Miller told the seven-member board during its hearing. “He reasonably believed there was a target.”

Cosgrove told the merit board, “I did what I thought was right that evening I was addressing the deadly threat that was in front of me.”

Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a shot at police, hitting Mattingly. Walker said he believed police were intruders breaking into the apartment before 1 a.m.

Police shot and killed Taylor, 26, in the hallway of her apartment during an undercover raid on her home on Springfield Drive as part of a series of raids elsewhere that targeted narcotics trafficking.

No drugs or money were found in her home.

Former Louisville police Col. LaVita Chavous testified that the initial belief of investigating officers indicated that Cosgrove’s firing was politically motivated after protests began in the months following Taylor’s death.

As protests engulfed the city in early summer 2020, Chavous told board members she overheard former Mayor Greg Fischer said he wanted to find a way to fire key officers involved in the raid and shooting of Taylor.

She believes Fischer was referring to Cosgrove, Sgt. Mattingly, Detective Brett Hankison and Detective Joshua Jaynes.

But in her ruling, Bellows found “there is no direct evidence that Mayor Fischer or anyone else improperly influenced the proceedings to ensure Cosgrove was fired. Simply put, while Cosgrove has provided certain evidence that his firing could have been politically motivated, he has not provided sufficient evidence to prove that it was.”

Fischer has testified he never gave an opinion on whether the police officers involved in the raid should be fired before the investigative process was completed.

The FBI determined Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.

This story may be updated.

Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.