Detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes have appealed to rejoin the Louisville Police Department after they were terminated in connection to the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.  

Investigators said Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor, 26.  

Cosgrove and his attorney appealed his case to the Louisville Metro Police Merit Board on Tuesday. They had a follow-up session on Wednesday and another scheduled for December if the need arises.  

The merit board consists of seven civilians and officers who will decide if then-Chief Yvette Gentry justified the termination of Cosgrove. The board could also determine if new punishment is needed or to overturn the ruling.  

Taylor was killed by the LMPD on March 13, 2020, after they executed a no-knock warrant. She was shot five times. None of the officers involved in her death were indicted for killing Taylor. One officer was indicted for allegedly putting her neighbor in danger when bullets entered their apartment.  

Related: Officer Involved in Death of Breonna Taylor Writing Book About Case 

Investigators said Cosgrove fired 16 rounds into the apartment after police breached the front door and Taylor’s boyfriend fired a shot at them. Federal ballistics experts said they believe the shot that killed Taylor came from Cosgrove.  

In Cosgrove’s dismissal letter, Gentry said the detective violated the department’s use-of-force policies to fire 16 shots without identifying a target and not activating his body camera. Gentry cited Cosgrove’s statements to internal investigators that he began firing at a “distorted shadowy mass” after Taylor’s boyfriend fired a single shot at officers.  

“The shots you fired were in three different directions, indicating you did not verify a threat or have target acquisition,” Gentry wrote.  

Related: Body Camera Footage of Breonna Taylor Raid Has to Exist, Lawsuit Says 

Jaynes, the detective who sought the narcotics warrant that led to the raid, was “untruthful” about how he obtained some information about Taylor in the warrant, Gentry wrote. Jaynes was not at the scene the night Taylor was shot.  

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