US Charges Four Louisville Police Officers in Breonna Taylor’s Death

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The US Justice Department charged four current and former Louisville police officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death for violating federal civil rights laws including falsifying the affidavit used to acquire a search warrant, Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Thursday.

"The Justice Department has charged four current and former Louisville Metro Police Department officers with federal crimes related to Breonna Taylor’s death," Garland said in a press release. "Among other things, the federal charges announced today allege that members of LMPD’s Place-Based Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home, that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death."

Former LMPD Detective Joshua Jaynes and current LMPD Sergeant Kyle Meany were charged for allegedly preparing a false search warrant affidavit and covering up their actions, the Justice Department said in the release.

The US also charged LMPD Detective Brett Hankison for firing his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and covered glass door, the release added.

The charges announced on Thursday are separate from the Civil Rights Division’s probe into the Louisville police department and government patterns and practices, the Justice Department said.

In March of 2020, Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot by Louisville police officers executing a search warrant. During the "no knock" raid, Taylor's boyfriend shot at what he believed to be intruders, before police fired 22 shots into the apartment, killing Taylor, an emergency room technician.