Files: Investigators suggested detective who obtained Breonna Taylor warrant be reviewed for criminal action
For the first time, we're hearing from the Louisville police officer who requested the warrant that ultimately led to Breonna Taylor's death, including the grilling he received by members of his own department over the process by which he sought it.
On Wednesday, Louisville Metro Police Department released the internal investigation that took place following her shooting.
It contains thousands of documents and hundreds of videos, many of which are with officers who responded that night in March. Among the interviews is one with Detective Joshua Jaynes, who was part of LMPD's Place Based Investigations Unit and was working a drug case focused on Jamarcus Glover and Elliott Avenue.
Jaynes was put on administrative leave in June. When that was announced, then-interim Chief Rob Schroeder said he would remain on leave until the questions of how and why the controversial no-knock search warrant was approved could be answered.
The file compiled by the Public Integrity Unit contains more details about how the warrant was obtained based on an interview with Jaynes conducted on May 19.
He told investigators he believed there were packages related to drug dealing being sent to Taylor's apartment for Jamarcus Glover, the main target of the large narcotics investigation. He says he saw Glover himself leave Taylor's apartment with mail.
Jaynes said during his interview that he asked Sgt. John Mattingly to use his contacts to check with a U.S. Postal Inspector whether suspicious packages were being delivered to Taylor's address. LMPD does not currently have a working relationship with the Postal Inspector. Mattingly told Jaynes that Glover was not receiving suspicious packages there, but Jaynes still wrote down Glover had received parcels at Taylor's home in the affidavit and implied they were indicative of drug trafficking.
He later clarified to investigators that he meant any parcels, not just suspicious ones.
"Um, was it 맥스카지노 it 맥스카지노 the way that you worded that specific bullet point in your affidavit, was it your intent to mislead the 맥스카지노 the reviewing judge?" a PIU investigator asked in May.
"No, not at all. And like I said, I could have 맥스카지노 I 맥스카지노 I could have worded a little bit differently in there. But I try to be as 맥스카지노 as (unintelligible) as detailed. Or sometimes it's good to be not as detailed," Jaynes replied.
The PIU interviewed two Shively police officers who refuted Jaynes' account, saying they told several LMPD officers no packages were being delivered there.
The PIU concluded it believed the wording on the affidavit was misleading and that Jaynes should be reviewed for "criminal actions."
(Can't see the photo? )
However, he was not considered for charges by the attorney general and his interview was not played for the grand jury.
He is currently under investigation by LMPD's Professional Standards Unit, along with five other officers involved that night.
Another discrepancy in Jaynes' story: SWAT said it was not fully aware of all details of the investigation, which involved several warrants being served all at once.
Jaynes said there was a briefing on March 5 where he informed SWAT commanders of plans to have officers with the Criminal Interdiction Unit serve a warrant at Taylor's apartment, but in a PIU interview, SWAT says that's not the case.
Commanders said if they had known about that location, they would have advised the Criminal Interdiction Division not to serve it simultaneously with the others that night.
"Simultaneous warrants, they're bad business. If something goes down like we just saw, who - who's there to provide armor?" Lt. Dale Massey said during his interview with the PIU.
Jaynes said in an interview with PIU that the area they were serving warrants to, mostly along Elliott Avenue, was a "hot spot" with a high crime score.
"They are just straight ... They맥스카지노re drug dealers. Um, they ... The operation they run is straight cashflow for them. It맥스카지노s straight business," he said in an interview with PIU. He said in his experience, drug dealers usually get other people involved, "usually baby mamas ... or it's girlfriends they can trust. They can trust them with their money and their stuff" and that's why they targeted Taylor's place.
He said her apartment on Springfield Dr. was where it was least likely that anything would happen.
, starting at page 368.
Jaynes has been with the Place Based Investigations unit since January and in narcotics since 2016. He has been with LMPD since 2006.