Four cops facing federals charges in death of Breonna Taylor

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The U.S. Department of Justice has charged four former and current Louisville police officers with federal crimes in connection with the fatal raid on Breonna Taylor’s home in 2020.

Ex-detectives Joshua Jaynes and Brett Hankison and current officers Kyle Meany and Kelly Goodlett face charges that include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

While Jaynes, Hankison and Meany were federally indicted, Goodlett was "charged on information," which typically means she is pleading guilty. She was charged with one count of conspiracy.

LMPD Chief Erika Shields said in a statement that the department is beginning termination procedures against Meany and Goodlett. Hankison and Jaynes have already been fired.

The department referred all other questions to the FBI.

Hankison previously was the only officer charged in the raid. A Jefferson County jury found him not guilty of wanton endangerment charges earlier this year.

Speaking in Washington, Justice Department officials said a "false warrant" for Taylor's Springfield Drive apartment set in motion the events that led to her death.

Garland also accused police of covering up their "unlawful conduct" after Taylor's death.

He said Jaynes and Goodlett "conspired to knowingly falsify an investigative document" after the shooting and "agreed to tell investigators a false story."

Jaynes' indictment says he and Goodlett met on May 17, 2020 in Jaynes' garage, where Jaynes allegedly told Goodlett "that they needed to get on the same page because they could both go down for putting false information in the Springfield Drive warrant affidavit."

The affidavit claimed Jaynes had "verified" through a U.S. postal inspector that Glover had been receiving packages at Taylor's apartment, adding that it's not "uncommon" for drug traffickers to receive items at different locations.

But Tony Gooden, a U.S. postal inspector in Louisville, told WDRB News in May 2020 that Louisville police didn't confer with his office. He said a different law enforcement agency asked his office in January 2020 to investigate whether any potentially suspicious mail was going to the unit.

How on earth does this have to go the federal courts?

Surely these cops broke state law

Hankison was the only officer previously charged in the raid. A Jefferson County Circuit Court jury found him not guilty of wanton endangerment charges earlier this year

How on earth does this have to go the federal courts?

Surely these cops broke state law

Cops have to stop pell-mell shooting people.

Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Kelly Hanna Goodlett pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiring to violate the civil rights of Breonna Taylor for helping falsify an affidavit for the search of her apartment that ended in her death in March 2020.

Goodlett is expected to be a star witness at the trial of two of her ex-colleagues, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, when they are tried on civil rights charges in connection with Taylor’s death. A third ex-detective, Brett Hankison, is also charged in a separate federal indictment.

Goodlett, 35, admitted the charge before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings with Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, among those present in the courtroom. She is the first officer to be convicted in connection with Taylor's death.

Goodlett was previously released but ordered to surrender her passport and have no contact with her codefendants, including Hankison.

She faces a sentence of no more than five years in prison, plus up to a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Her sentencing tentatively is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 22, though Jennings noted that date may get pushed back.

Goodlett admitted she falsely claimed a postal inspector had verified Taylor was receiving packages for her ex-boyfriend, convicted drug dealer Jamarcus Glover, at her apartment before the raid. In fact, postal inspectors said there was no evidence Taylor was receiving packages at her apartment.

The indictment of Jaynes alleges Goodlett met with Jaynes in his garage so they could “get on the same page” after a postal inspector said the claim that Taylor was receiving Glover's packages was bogus.