Myles Cosgrove, the former Louisville Metro Police Department detective who the FBI said shot and killed Breonna Taylor, filed a lawsuit against his former employer and the Police Merit Board with the goal of being reinstated.
Cosgrove was fired from his position at the department in January 2021 by former interim Chief Yvette Gentry. He was one of the officers who shot Taylor in March 2020 during a middle-of-the-night raid on her apartment that was connected to a broader narcotics investigation focused on her ex-boyfriend.
Cosgrove appealed his termination to the Police Merit Board shortly after his termination, but the Board voted 5-2 to uphold the decision in December.
Joshua Jaynes, a detective who Gentry fired at the same time as Cosgrove, also lost his appeal to the Police Merit Board.
Gentry is mentioned several times throughout the complaint, although she isn’t named as a defendant. Cosgrove’s attorney Scott Miller takes issue with Gentry’s termination letter, saying she provided insufficient explanation of her decision to fire his client.
In the complaint, Miller said the Merit Board’s vote was “arbitrary and unlawful due to actions in excess of its authority or in violation of due process.”
The filing alleges former Merit Board member “Jason Witt” — likely referring to Sgt. Justin Witt — failed “to disclose a conflict of interest that would justify recusal” and improperly continued to participate in and influence Board proceedings and decisions. Miller did not provide any details about the alleged conflict.
Additionally, the suit alleges the Board failed to consider Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s finding that Cosgrove was justified in his use of deadly force.
And Miller’s filing alleges there was a lack of substantial evidence to support the Board’s decision to uphold Cosgrove’s firing.
The attorney also argues Cosgrove received different treatment than ex-LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly.
Mattingly shot his gun into Taylor’s apartment the night of the raid, too, but was not terminated from his position on the force and later retired. Mattingly was injured as the plainclothes officers broke down Taylor’s door by a single gunshot fired by her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
“We continue to reiterate that Det. Cosgrove should not have been terminated and the decision of the Police Merit Board should be overturned because Detective Cosgrove’s use of force complied with law, policy, and training,” Miller said in an emailed statement to WFPL News.
An LMPD spokesperson said the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
