Myles Cosgrove's Hiring is a Disgrace After Breonna Taylor's Death

  Breonna Taylor's death during a botched police raid in March 2020 sent shockwaves through the US and worldwide. Alongside other Black people killed that year - such as George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia - it ignited national discussions of systemic racism and extra-judicial police violence targeting black Americans. Why Cosgrove’s Hiring Is a Disgrace Breonna Taylor's death caused widespread anti-racism protests nationwide and prodded Black Lives Matter activists to demand justice. She was shot and killed on March 13, 2020 during an attempted police raid, prompting communities across the US and world to express their sorrow at her passing. Protestor are outraged that Myles Cosgrove, one of the Louisville Metro police officers involved in Taylor's death is now working for a sheriff's department just 50 miles from where she died. Taylor died from gunshot wounds fired from an officer based at Louisville Metro a decade earlier; Cosgrove shot and killed her with one bullet shot from their weapon during this same police shift. As of April 20, Cosgrove is a sheriff's deputy in Carroll County. Prior to that he worked at LMPD where he served in their 8th, 4th and 6th divisions. Cosgrove received praise during his time with the LMPD for managing an unstable person safely and training other police officers, and also received commendations for helping train newcomers. Unfortunately, however, he also faced discipline due to failing to adhere to their department's courtesy policies as well as for not attending court hearings. Cosgrove was disciplined further for failing to attend an instruction on excessive force training session and was also suspended from LMPD due to not attending a course about deadly force use. In November, the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council decided not to revoke Cosgrove's peace officer certification; thus allowing him to apply for other law enforcement jobs within Kentucky - thus drawing checks funded by public taxpayers. Cosgrove was involved in a botched raid that resulted in Taylor's death, making his presence at the sheriff's office quite disgraceful. Taylor's family released a statement calling Cosgrove disgusting and expressed their displeasure that they hired him as their representative. Monday afternoon at the Carroll County courthouse, a small group of protestors assembled to voice their displeasure over Sheriff Ryan Gosser's hiring decision and urge him to change it. Cosgrove’s History Cosgrove's hiring by Carroll County Sheriff's Office is deeply troubling when considered within the context of Kentucky racial justice. Multiple local news sources report that Cosgrove was fired by Louisville Metro Police for violating use-of-force policies and failing to activate his body camera during a raid at Taylor's apartment complex in January 2021. As reported by WHAS 11, Carroll County Sheriff's Office hired Cosgrove after Kentucky Law Enforcement Council decided not to revoke his peace officer certification, enabling him to apply for other law enforcement jobs within Kentucky. Robert Miller, Chief Deputy for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office, responded to local reporter's inquiry about Cosgrove's hiring by conducting a background check before making his decision. Miller noted that Cosgrove was never charged or indicted during his employment with Louisville Metro Police Department before being let go from there. Cosgrove's attorney, Scott Miller, contends that the police department's decision to fire Cosgrove was both horrific and unlawful, alleging in his suit against it that its merit board acted outside its authority or in breach of due process. The Merit Board determined that Cosgrove had failed to identify his target when firing 16 rounds into Taylor's home. They further concluded he did not follow standard operating procedures and that his body camera was not activated during this incident. Kenneth Walker had also been present during this shooting incident. Cosgrove was dismissed by a merit board that found against him on all counts, yet still upheld his dismissal with a 5-2 vote. At his five-day hearings, his attorney will attempt to show why Cosgrove should be reinstated. According to the Courier Journal, Cosgrove's attorneys presented their arguments before the merit board for hearings that will span five days between November and December and all start at 9 am on each date. Cosgrove will present evidence through his lawyers and former Interim Louisville Metro Police Chief Yvette Gentry at this hearing before the Merit Board, composed of two Louisville Metro officers and five mayoral appointees appointed by Mayor Greg Fischer who deal with matters such as discipline in the department and new recruit evaluation. Cosgrove’s Record Black Lives Matter Louisville deplores Cosgrove's appointment by Carroll County Sheriff's Office as an outrage and violation of his civil rights, even though he had been fired by Louisville Metro Police Department over Taylor's death and that Kentucky Law Enforcement Council decided not to revoke his state peace officer certification. Cosgrove had an extensive record of discipline for poor court attendance and violations of department policies, working various divisions before transitioning into Narcotics Investigation in 2016. In 2020, Taylor was shot during an unsuccessful drug raid and later died as a result. Police opened fire during this operation with 16 rounds into her apartment while she and her boyfriend were present inside it; federal ballistics experts believe this gunshot caused Taylor's death. The raid set off months-long protests in Louisville and national outrage, prompting international police reform efforts. Following Taylor's murder along with that of George Floyd from Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery from Georgia, worldwide outrage emerged against systemic racism within law enforcement agencies as well as impunity within them. Cosgrove was fired from the LMPD earlier this year for violating their use-of-force procedures and failing to activate his body camera during the Taylor raid. Former interim Chief Yvette Gentry wrote in her termination letter that Cosgrove violated department policy by failing to identify threats before using deadly force against citizens without justification or reasonable cause. Cosgrove is appealing his firing before the Metro Police Merit Board, which will hold hearings in November and December. Meanwhile, according to various media reports, he has been hired by Carroll County Sheriff's Department nearby in an unspecified county. Chief Deputy Robert Miller explained to WLKY-TV why Cosgrove was hired, noting his experience executing warrants was invaluable to their office and that their background check revealed no issues; also noting that Cosgrove has never been charged in relation to Taylor's death. Ben Grunwald, a Duke University law school professor and co-author of a 2020 study on wandering officers. However, Cosgrove's history was well known and had already been fired from other agencies. Cosgrove’s Compensation Myles Cosgrove, the former police officer who fired the fatal shot that killed Breonna Taylor in March 2020, has moved on and now serves with Carroll County Sheriff's Office, located one hour northeast of Louisville. Anger and concern has been voiced regarding the hiring of disgraced officer Cosgrove as a police officer at another local government department, prompting several to express outrage and raise concern from both police officers and community members in Carroll County near Ohio River. Citizens expressed outrage that he is now patrolling their area while others held signs in support of Taylor, demanding justice be served. Cosgrove lost his appeal with the LMPD Review Board earlier this year, who found he violated department policies during his raid of Taylor's apartment and had falsified documents leading up to it. They also discovered he lied on a search warrant used for this raid. Cosgrove was on administrative leave at the time of the shooting and later fired by LMPD after filing suit to try and gain back his employment. Now he is seeking justice by filing suit against them. He is not the first former officer who has been fired for misconduct and later hired elsewhere - this issue has long been a point of contention in America. One of the main concerns facing law enforcement today is "wandering cops." That is because many officers with histories of misconduct can move between departments without risking having their certification revoked, something which although rare in most states does happen. Black Lives Matter Louisville in Kentucky has taken steps to highlight issues surrounding officer abuse. Chanelle Helm, one of their lead organizers told NPR she was appalled at Cosgrove's new position and hopes he can be charged accordingly. Taylor's family have filed multiple wrongful death lawsuits against police over his shooting; now, an investigative grand jury is looking into this incident as well. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron plans to announce a charge decision soon.