Four Officers Charged Over Shooting Death of Breonna Taylor

According to the New York Times, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Thursday, August 4 that former Louisville Metro detective Brett Hankinson — who fired the shot that killed the 26-year-old emergency room tech— will be tried on additional charges. They include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracy, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction, as well as depriving Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, of their "constitutional rights by firing shots through a bedroom window that was covered with blinds and a blackout curtain."

The other three face charges related to the knowingly falsifying information that resulted in the "no-knock" search warrant for the raid, as well as trying to cover up what they did after news of Taylor's death further intensified nationwide Black Lives Matter protests.

Most notably, former officer Joshua Jaynes facing charges of conspiring to impede the federal investigation, violating Ms. Taylor’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure and falsification of a search warrant. He is said to be the one who sent out an affidavit including the false claim that he verified that Taylor was receiving packages on behalf of her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, who was suspected of using her home to hide drugs at the time.

Meanwhile, current officer Kelly Hanna Goodlett is being charged with conspiring to falsify the affidavit for the search warrant and hinder the subsequent investigation into the raid, while another current officer named Kyle Meany is being accused of civil rights violations and lying to the F.B.I.

Read the New York Times' full report here.

Photo via Getty / Leigh Vogel