U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday (August 4) that the Department of Justice has filed federal charges against Brett Hankison, detective Joshua Jaynes, former Louisville detective Kelly Goodlett, and sergeant Kyle Meany in connection with the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor.
Garland made the announcement during a press conference, stating, "The federal charges announced today allege that members of a Police Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor's home and that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor's death."
Garland added, "Among other things, the affidavit falsely claimed that officers had verified that the target of the alleged drug trafficking operation had received packages at Ms. Taylor's address. In fact, defendants Jaynes and Goodlett knew that was not true."
Garland also stated that Jaynes and Goodlett knew that there would be danger to anyone inside Taylor's home while conducting the raid, but they went ahead with it anyway. Prosecutors also allege that Jaynes and Goodlett agreed to tell investigators a false story about the deadly raid.
Hankison has been charged in a two-count indictment for deprivation of rights under color of law, both of which are civil rights offenses. Hankison was found not guilty on all counts after he fired 10 shots through a window and sliding glass door in Taylor's home, resulting in her death.
Source: Abcnews.go.com
