4 Officers Charged In Breonna Taylor's Death

LOUISVILLE, KY — Four current and former officers with the Louisville Metro Police Department face federal charges in connection with the death of Breonna Taylor, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced at a press conference Thursday, as seen in a video posted to Twitter by ABC News.

The charges include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction offenses, Garland said.

"I'm going to begin today by discussing the civil rights offenses that stem from the falsification of a search warrant," he said. "We allege that these offenses resulted in Ms. Taylor's death."

The FBI opened an investigation into Taylor's death two months after she was killed in March 2020 during the execution of a search warrant, and the Department of Justice started investigating Louisville's police and government last year, according to The Courier-Journal.

"We share but we cannot fully imagine the grief felt by Breonna Taylor's loved ones and all of those affected by the events of March 13, 2020," Garland said in a video posted to Twitter by The Recount. "Breonna Taylor should be alive today."

The charged officers include former detectives Joshua Jaynes and Brett Hankison as well as Kelly Hanna Goodlett and Kyle Meany, according to The Courier-Journal, which reported the FBI arrested Jaynes on Thursday morning.

Jaynes was fired last year for lying in the warrant affidavit to search Taylor's apartment, The Courier-Journal reported.

"We allege that the defendants knew their actions in falsifying the affidavit could create a dangerous situation and we allege these unlawful acts resulted in Ms. Taylor's death," Garland said in a separate video tweeted by The Recount.

"The charges announced today also allege that the officers responsible for falsifying the affidavit that led to the search took steps to cover up their unlawful conduct after Ms. Taylor was killed."

Jaynes conspired with Goodlett to falsify an investigative document created after Taylor's death and met with Goodlett in May 2020 inside a garage, where they agreed to lie to investigators, Garland said, adding Meany also lied to the FBI.

Prior to federal charges being brought, Hankison was the only officer who had been charged in the case, but he was acquitted in March of three felony wanton endangerment counts tied to bullets fired through Taylor's apartment and into a neighboring residence, according to CNN. Garland said Thursday that Hankison is now also accused of two civil rights offenses of unconstitutional excessive force in connection with the 10 shots he fired through Taylor's window and sliding glass door after Taylor was struck.

Taylor, who was 26, Black, and worked as an emergency room technician, was shot to death by officers who had come to execute a search warrant at her apartment on Louisville's South End in connection with suspected drug activity by her ex-boyfriend. One officer was shot by Taylor's boyfriend during the raid, according to The Courier-Journal, which reported that her boyfriend believed the apartment was being broken into. No drugs or cash were found in the residence, The Courier-Journal reported.

Two other officers were also fired in connection with the case, which was one of several in 2020 that resulted in widespread protests and calls for an end to police brutality and systemic racism, according to The Courier-Journal.