The Justice Department has moved to dismiss criminal charges against two Louisville police officers involved in the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor. The motion, filed in federal court, asks to drop charges against Kyle Meany and Joshua Jaynes, who helped draft the no-knock warrant that led to the fatal raid.

Attorney General Merrick Garland had charged four Louisville Metro Police officers in 2022 with civil rights violations related to Taylor's death. The case faced significant setbacks when a federal judge last August dismissed the most serious charges, ruling prosecutors couldn't prove the officers' actions directly caused Taylor's death during the chaotic raid.

Taylor's killing sparked nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice in 2020. The unarmed 26-year-old Black medical worker was shot while in bed after her boyfriend fired at officers who broke down their door searching for drugs that were never found. The decision to drop charges against the remaining officers drew immediate criticism from civil rights advocates, who called it 'indefensible' as communities marked six years since her death.