A former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer has admitted guilt to a federal conspiracy charge in connection with the shooting death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman whose death during a police raid sparked widespread demonstrations for racial justice across the country.
The first officer to be charged criminally for the raid, Kelly Goodlett, entered a guilty plea to one count of conspiracy on Tuesday in a federal court in Louisville, according to the New York Times.Federal investigators claimed that Goodlett added a bogus line on the warrant that was used to kill Taylor in March 2020 and then plotted with another detective to fabricate a tale when Taylor's death came to the attention of the public.
Mass demonstrations demanding an end to deadly police violence against Black people across the US were sparked by Taylor's death at the hands of the police, along with those of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and other individuals.The police broke into Taylor's flat without knocking on March 13, 2020, while she was in bed with her boyfriend. Taylor is an emergency medical technician. One shot was fired by Taylor's boyfriend at what he claimed to be intruders. 32 rounds were fired in response by three police officers, six of which hit Taylor and killed her.
Since then, the 26-year-family, old's friends, and supporters have persisted in demanding justice and the prosecution of the cops responsible for the raid.The US Department of Justice filed charges against Goodlett and three other former Louisville police officers earlier this month for their involvement in the fatal shot.
Prosecutors claim that Goodlett and another ex-officer, Joshua Jaynes, met in a garage days after the shooting and came up with a fabrication to hide the falsified evidence they had used to support the failed raid.As a result of providing false information to get the search warrant, federal prosecutors also accused Jaynes and current Sergeant Kyle Meany of violating their civil rights and obstructing the court system.
For allegedly employing excessive force, a fourth officer, retired detective Brett Hankison, was charged with civil rights crimes.
A jury cleared Hankison of the allegation of willful endangerment in March. The other two officers who shot Taylor were previously exonerated by a grand jury, but Hankison was indicted for endangering neighbors in the nearby apartment.
On August 5, the day after Attorney General Merrick Garland announced fresh federal charges in the case, Goodlett resigned from the police force. Goodlett is scheduled to be sentenced on November 22.
She entered a plea on Tuesday, and US District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings noted that "extenuating circumstances" would prompt the court to defer sentencing. Additionally, a portion of the plea hearing was kept confidential and not mentioned in front of the court.Both Goodlett's attorney and the prosecution were unavailable for comment at the time.
The 35-year-old ex-officer could spend up to five years behind bars, pay a $250,000 fine, and serve three years on probation.
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