US indicts four Kentucky police officers in Breonna Taylor murder

Attorney General Merrick Garland said four current and former Louisville Police Department officers have been charged with civil rights violations, illegal conspiracy, and unconstitutional use of force and obstruction.

Garland said the Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged former detective Joshua Jaynes, detective Kelly Goodlett, former detective Brett Hankinson, and Sgt. Kyle Meaney commits civil rights violations and unconstitutional use of force.

DOJalleges that Jaynes lied in the search warrant application that police raided Taylor’s home. He wrote in the search warrant that police “confirmed with the U.S. Postal Service Officer” that Taylor’s ex, who is suspected of drug dealing, had received mail at her address. However, an internal investigation revealed that Jaynes did not verify the information with the postman himself, but relied on another officer’s false statements.

The May 2020 murders of Taylor and George Floyd in Minneapolis by white police officers have been the focus of a massive wave of protests in the United States and abroad against racial injustice and police brutality.

– with AFP

first published as US indicts four Kentucky police officers in Breonna Taylor murder