The U.S. Department of Justice charged four former and current Louisville police officers with federal crimes in connection to the raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor back in 2020.

The defendants are identified as ex-detectives Joshua Jaynes, Brett Hankison, and current officers Kyle Meany, and Kelly Goodlett. They face charges that include civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracies, unconstitutional use of force, and obstruction, Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a news conference Thursday. 

The indictments made public Thursday allege that Jaynes and Meany “drafted and approved what they knew was a false affidavit to support a search warrant for Ms. Taylor’s home,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in Washington. “That false affidavit set in motion events that led to Ms. Taylor’s death when other LMPD officers executed that warrant.”

Jaynes was fired from the department in January 2021, but had never been criminally charged until now. Jaynes had appealed the decision but lost that argument before the department’s merit board.

In March 2022, Hankison was found not guilty of state charges of wanton endangerment. He was acquitted of endangering people’s lives while shooting several rounds into Taylor’s apartment. 

While Jaynes, Hankison and Meany were federally indicted, Goodlett was “charged on information,” which typically means she has pleaded guilty or plans to. She was charged with one count of conspiracy. 

Goodlett has a hearing scheduled in U.S. District Court on Aug. 12.

All were arrested Thursday.

Garland said, “We share but we cannot fully imagine the grief felt by Breonna Taylor’s loved ones and all of those affected by the events of March 13, 2020,” Garland said. “Breonna Taylor should be alive today.”