Biden’s hack Attorney General Merrick Garland today announced that four police officers involved in the raided that led to Breonna Taylor’s death have been charged with lying to the FBI and a conspiracy to cover up their unlawful actions by concocting a false story.
Watch:
AG Merrick Garland announces bombshell charges against police officers involved in the search warrant that led to the killing of Breonna Taylor.
He says defendants "took steps to cover up their unlawful conduct" and "met in a garage where they agreed to tell … a false story." pic.twitter.com/nEuvdkbJfl
— The Recount (@therecount) August 4, 2022
Gardland says the officers are also being accused of falsifying an affidavit after Taylor’s death.
Here’s more from the NY Post:
Four current and former Louisville police officers were hit with federal charges related to the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, who was shot during a law enforcement raid at her apartment, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday.
Former Louisville Metro Police Department officers Joshua Haynes, Kelly Goodlett, and Brett Hankison and current LMPD Sgt. Kyle Meany were charged in two separate indictments with “civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies and use of force and obstruction offenses” related to Taylor’s death.
Haynes, Goodlett and Meany are accused of committing civil right offenses in the falsification of a so-called “no-knock” search warrant, Garland said.
“Federal charges announced today allege that members of the place based Investigations Unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Ms. Taylor’s home,” the AG said, adding: “This act violated federal civil rights laws and those violations resulted in Miss Taylor’s death.”
“This act violated federal civil rights laws and those violations resulted in Miss Taylor’s death.”
Taylor, a 26-year-old black medical worker, was shot and killed by officers when they attempted to carry out the warrant for a search of her home. During the incident, Taylor’s boyfriend fired at the officers, believing an intruder was entering the apartment. Taylor was hit multiple times when the police returned fire.
The Department of Justice believes cops knew the affidavit used to support the warrant contained “false and misleading information,” including the fact that officers had “verified that the target of the alleged drug trafficking operation had received packages at Ms. Taylor’s address,” Garland said.
“We alleged that the defendants knew their actions and falsifying the affidavit could create a dangerous situation and we allege these unlawful acts resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” Garland continued, noting that the officers conducting the raid were unaware of its false and misleading statements.
Jaynes and Goodlett have also been accused of conspiring to “mislead federal, state, and local authorities” investigating the incident after Taylor’s death.
“For example, we allege that in May 2020, those two defendants met in a garage where they agreed to tell investigators a false story,” Garland said.
The DOJ separately alleges that Meany “lied to the FBI during its investigation in this manner.”
Jaynes faces one count of willfully depriving Taylor of her constitutional rights in his official capacity as an officer, another count of conspiracy, and one count of falsifying a report. Meany faces one count of willfully depriving Taylor of her constitutional rights in his official capacity as an officer and one count of making a false statement to federal investigators. Goodlett faces one count of conspiracy.
Hankison – who was found not guilty earlier this year in a state trial on three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment in connection to the shooting – has been charged with two civil rights offenses, with the DOJ alleging he “willfully used unconstitutionally excessive force while engaging in his official capacity as an officer.”
The former detective was among the several officers executing the search warrant and blindly shot 10 bullets through a covered window and sliding glass door.
“Community Safety dictates that police officers use their weapons only when necessary to defend their own lives or the lives of others and even then, that they must do so with great care and caution,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said.
“Today’s indictment alleges that Hankinson’s use of excessive force violated the rights of Breonna Taylor and her guests and also of her neighbors whose lives were endangered by bullets that penetrated into their apartment.”
Some of these are pretty serious charges. But given the political corruption at the hightest levels of the DOJ, I’m going to withhold judgement and remain highly skeptical of these charges, especially the civil rights charges.
After all, I never thought the offices did anything wrong in this case, as they discharged their weapons AFTER being fired upon by Taylor’s boyfriend.