DOJ Dismisses Charges in Breonna Taylor Case

0:00Welcome to Global News Today, two minutes of world news that matter. The U.S. Department of Justice has moved to dismiss misdemeanor charges against two former Louisville police officers tied to the Breonna Taylor case. Joshua James and Kyle Manny were accused of falsifying information for a search warrant that led to the March 2020 raid on her home, where the 26-year-old was fatally shot. Those charges started as felonies, but a federal judge downgraded them last August, saying prosecutors couldn't link the warrant issues directly to Taylor's death. Now the DOJ wants the case thrown out entirely with prejudice, meaning it can't be refiled, all in the interest of justice. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, voiced strong frustration after a DOJ call informed her of the move, calling it disrespectful. Taylor's killing fueled the Black Lives Matter protests alongside George Floyd's death that same year, shining a spotlight on no-knock warrants and police accountability.

1:00During the early morning raid, plain clothes officers burst in while Taylor and her boyfriends slept. He fired once, thinking intruders had entered, and officers responded with dozens of shots. No drugs turned up, despite suspicions about her ex-boyfriend. One officer, Brett Hankison, got convicted on civil rights charges for excessive force, served just 33 months after a lenient recommendation. Kelly Goodlett admitted to falsifying the warrant and await sentencing, as the judge raised the dismissal request on the other two.