Protesters say hiring of officer who shot Breonna Taylor shows why 'we're still fighting'

Rae Johnson, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read
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CARROLLTON, Ky. — With signs that read "No Knock Killer Kop," about a dozen people gathered outside the Carroll County courthouse on a chilly Monday morning to protest the return to law enforcement of the police officer who fired the bullet that killed Breonna Taylor.

Carrollton residents were in the crowd along with protesters from Louisville, the city Taylor called home. They were there to stand against the decision by the Carroll County Sheriff's Office to hire former Louisville Metro Police Officer Myles Cosgrove.

Antonio Brown had previously protested in Louisville and took the more than hourlong trip to Northern Kentucky to attend Monday. The hiring, he said, showed a lack of progress since Taylor's death more than three years ago.

Carroll County resident Laura Goldsmith displays a sign outside the Carroll County Courthouse in Carrollton, Ky. on Apr. 24, 2023 to protest the hiring of former LMPD officer Myles Cosgrove by the Carroll County Sheriff's Department. Cosgrove was one of the officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.
Carroll County resident Laura Goldsmith displays a sign outside the Carroll County Courthouse in Carrollton, Ky. on Apr. 24, 2023 to protest the hiring of former LMPD officer Myles Cosgrove by the Carroll County Sheriff's Department. Cosgrove was one of the officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.

"The same officer has been hired in another county — not even in a different state, a different county. So I don't see nothing change in Kentucky," Brown said. "... We’re still fighting for voting rights, for trans kids to be kids, legal marijuana. It’s a lot of things we are fighting for that we been fighting for years."

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Cosgrove's controversial hiring came into the spotlight over the weekend, when the Carroll County Sheriff's Office confirmed it had added him to its ranks. Chief Deputy Rob Miller noted Cosgrove had not been charged over Taylor's killing and he had passed the agency's background check, despite being fired from LMPD in January 2021.

"We felt like he was a good candidate to help us in our county," Miller told The Courier Journal, citing his nearly 20-year background in law enforcement.

Maurice Todd Jr. participated from the sideline at Monday's protest. He's lived in the area his whole life, he said, and called the move to "hire a killer cop and put him on the payroll" the "worst decision they've ever made for this county."

"I don't know, now, how to look at our county leaders," Todd said.

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An Army veteran, Todd said the protest was one of two of the most memorable experiences he could think of since his childhood, the other being a direct encounter with a far-right hate group.

"I never thought I'd see people come together — not in my town. This is the largest thing on the negative side that's ever happened here, and it brought the people together," he said.

Henry County resident Destiny Kelley displays a sign that advocates ending qualified immunity for law enforcement officers during a protest outside the Carroll County Courthouse in Carrollton, Ky. on Apr. 24, 2023. Demonstrators assembled in the small town to protest against the hiring of former LMPD officer Myles Cosgrove by the Carroll County Sheriff's Department. Cosgrove was one of the officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.

Cosgrove was one of three officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment the night she was killed on March 13, 2020. Police on the scene were serving a no-knock warrant and returned fire after Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend who was with her at the apartment, fired a round at officers who he said he believed were home intruders. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron's investigation found Cosgrove's bullet was the round that killed Taylor.

Cosgrove was not charged over the killing. The only officer to face charges was Brett Hankison, who was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment over rounds he fired that entered another apartment unit at the complex. He was later found not guilty.

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Carroll County resident Caroline Reisner had her own perspective as she held a sign calling on public officials to work to gain the trust of their communities.

Others may not agree with her, she acknowledged, but Cosgrove deserves "redemption." It should come, though, by serving the public "without a badge and without a gun" and instead advocating for people who have experienced similar trauma and its impact on the community.

"The most important thing that we all have left to us is hope, and being able to be an optimist and to hope for a better future for our communities and for our children is really important," she said.

Reporter Krista Johnson contributed. Contact reporter Rae Johnson at RNJohnson@gannett.com. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Hiring of ex-LMPD officer who shot Breonna Taylor met with protests