Officer who fired fatal shot in Breonna Taylor botched raid hired by nearby county sheriff's office
CARROLLTON, Ky. -- Myles Cosgrove, one of the Louisville Metro Police officers involved in the 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor, has been recently hired by the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, Cosgrove's attorney told CNN.
The move prompted the family of Breonna Taylor to release a statement expressing "disgust" and "disappointment" the officer who fired the fatal bullet in the botched raid was hired by a sheriff's office only 50 miles away from Louisville.
Cosgrove -- the detective whose bullet ultimately killed Taylor according to the Kentucky Attorney General -- began working for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, Sheriff Ryan Gosser told CNN affiliate WAVE.
The sheriff told WAVE his office did a normal background check prior to hiring Cosgrove, and pointed out Cosgrove was never indicted.
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Gosser said Cosgrove brings experience which will be useful in the county, WAVE reported.
Cosgrove's attorney Scott Miller said his client was a scapegoat for the shooting death of Taylor.
"He has been cleared by a state grand jury, a federal grand jury," he said adding, "His actions that night, were what police officers are trained to react to when they're fired upon," Miller said. "We provided expert testimony that said he acquired sufficient target identification and target isolation. The city didn't provide any expert testimony. They have nothing in their policy related to that."
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Cosgrove was justified because Taylor's boyfriend fired at officers first.
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The Louisville Metro Police Department initially terminated Detective Cosgrove in January 2021 for use of deadly force for firing 16 rounds into Taylor's home and failing to activate his body camera, according to a copy of his termination letter.
In December 2021, the Louisville Metro Police Merit Board backed the decision to fire Cosgrove by a 5-2 vote, in a decision made after several days of hearings.
Last November, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council voted not to revoke Cosgrove's state peace officer certification according to Louisville television station WHAS.
The decision meant he could apply for other law enforcement jobs in the state.
"The Kentucky law enforcement Council, consisting of citizens, mayors, Judge executives, police officers across the state as well as educators, also voted he should not lose his police officer certification [and] should be allowed to be a police officer in Kentucky," Miller said.
Sam Aguiar, who represents Taylor's family, said he was "disgusted" when he heard about the hiring.
"I was disappointed and disgusted to hear that an agency hired him. We had one of the best ballistics experts in the country review Cosgrove's actions at length. He concluded without a doubt that Cosgrove shot Breonna continuously while she was unarmed, going to the ground, and on the ground," Aguiar said.
"Even if Carroll County was desperate for a body to fill a position, due diligence should've prevented this hire from happening. But we unfortunately know from Breonna's case and so many others that in the world of policing, lots of undeserved favors are performed for officers simply because of the badge."
When reached, the Louisville Metro Police Department told CNN it had no comment.
A protest was called in response to Cosgrove's appointment outside the sheriff's office in Carrollton, on Monday, the Carrollton Police Department confirmed to CNN. By midmorning, CNN affiliate WAVE reported, a small turnout of mostly Louisville residents.
"We have activated our plans in regard to civil protests. Our agency has coordinated a response with other agencies that serve our city," Carrollton Police Chief Michael Willhoite said in a statement to CNN.
Carrollton Mayor Robb W. Adams addressed the controversial hiring on the city's Facebook page.
"As many of you may know, there has been some unrest in recent days related to a recent hiring at the Carroll County Sheriff's Office. We do understand that there are groups who plan to come and exercise their right to assemble and peacefully protest this decision," Adams said. "The City of Carrollton has been closely monitoring the situation and have plans in place to ensure everyone's safety, although we do not expect any issues."
Meanwhile, Cosgrove, who has already started working for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, needs to work two more years to collect on his full retirement benefits, according to his lawyer.
"He has a right to pursue a profession. And he's pursued one for 20 years and done it honorably, up until this point when he was terminated by Louisville as a scapegoat for this entire situation," Miller said.
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