A controversial hire in law enforcement by a former Louisville police officer who fired the fatal shot that killed Breonna Taylor attracted demonstrators to a small Kentucky county northeast of the city.

Myles Cosgrove, who was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in January 2021 for breaking use-of-force policies and failing to use a body camera during the raid on Taylor’s apartment, was confirmed to be working for Carroll County Sheriff’s Office on Saturday. On Monday morning, a group of around a dozen individuals protested against his hire by demonstrating in downtown Carrolton while waving placards and yelling, “Cosgrove has got to go.”

According to investigators, when Taylor’s front door was broken during a drugs search on March 13, 2020, Cosgrove fired 16 shots into the residence. Taylor’s boyfriend shot at the police with a firearm because he thought someone was breaking in. After being shot in the leg by Officer Jonathan Mattingly, the other cops opened fire, killing Taylor in the corridor. According to the FBI investigation, Taylor’s identity was misrepresented in a flawed narcotics warrant that other senior officers had created. The police who entered Taylor’s apartment under the authority of the warrant, according to U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland, “were not involved in the warrant affidavit’s drafting and were not aware that it was false.”

Cosgrove was hired by the local Kentucky sheriff’s office, and Robert Miller, the head deputy in Carroll County, noted that the state grand jury had exonerated him. The Kentucky Law Enforcement Council decided in November not to rescind Cosgrove’s designation as a state peace officer. He might now apply for additional law enforcement positions in the state as a result. – Steve Sijenyi