The Louisville police officer who shot Breonna Taylor has appealed to get his job back.

Metro Police Merit Board will begin to hear the case Tuesday of the former Louisville Metro Police detective who was fired after he fatally shot Breonna Taylor.

Miles Cosgrove, who spent 15 years with the Louisville Police Department, is going before the Board to appeal for his removal after the March 13, 2020 shooting.

The hearing will take place over five days spread over November and December, after which board members will decide whether his January 5 firing by former Louisville interim police chief Yvette Gentry was justified, according to Louisville Courier-Journal.

Mr. Cosgrove was fired along with another officer present in the shooting, and he submitted his appeal on 10 January. Detective Joshua Jaynes lost his appeal, along with an additional seven officers who have appealed his dismissal since 2015.

The raid on the 26-year-old African-American woman’s home was part of a larger drug investigation. The Board found that Mr. Jaynes’ firing was justified because he had lied on an affidavit to obtain a search warrant to enter Ms. Taylor’s residence, WLKY reported.

Mr. Cosgrove was part of a group of seven police officers in plainclothes that raided Miss Taylor’s apartment at 12.40 a.m. Police used a beating ram to break down the door, at which point Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot from his legally owned handgun, killing Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly.

Mr. Walker has said he was unaware that it was the police who were breaking into the apartment. Police have said that he announced his arrival. After Mr. Walker used his handgun, Mr. Cosgrove discharged his weapon 16 times. Mr. Mattingly fired six times, and fellow detective Brett Hankison used his shotgun 10 times.

Ms. Taylor, who was unarmed, was hit six times.

Chief Yvette Gentry wrote in a pre-termination letter that Mr. Cosgrove neglected to “properly identify a target”, instead of firing in “three different directions”.

Mr. Cosgrove, accompanied by a lawyer, attended a hearing before his firing, but the chief decided to proceed with a determination.

The Merit Board consists of five members who are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Metro Council. Two police officers elected to a two-year term also serve on the board during disciplinary matters.

If the board agrees with Mr. Cosgrove’s appeal, they may recommend that he be suspended or demoted rather than dismissed. If the board dismisses the appeal, Mr. Cosgrove will be able to go to Circuit Court.