"A Great Day" to Arrest Killers The news is like blessed rain after the drought: The FBI has arrested the former Louisville Metro Police detective who was fired for lying on the search warrant that led to the deadly 2020 raid at Breonna Taylor's apartment as well three others, including the only officer to face state charges in connection with Taylor's fatal shooting. Joshua Jaynes was taken into custody Thursday morning by the FBI and booked in the Oldham County Detention Center, according to attorney Thomas Clay, who is representing Jaynes. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Jaynes, ex-officer Brett Hankison, Sgt. Kyle Meany and Officer Kelly Hanna Goodlett are the four defendants facing new federal charges in connection with the investigation that led to the March 13, 2020 death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman and emergency room technician whose name was a rallying cry for protesters around the country during 2020 demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism. (Kobin↱) The impact of the announcement is extraordinary; there is a weird sort of stunned silence in some corners of the American discourse. While many worry about the DoJ in other matters, the legend of Merrick Garland looms large; it seems people were not expecting this turn. Per DoJ↱: The first indictment charges former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Detective Joshua Jaynes, 40, and current LMPD Sergeant Kyle Meany, 35, with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses for their roles in preparing and approving a false search warrant affidavit that resulted in Taylor’s death. The second indictment charges former LMPD Detective Brett Hankison, 46, with civil rights offenses for firing his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and covered glass door. The third charging document — an information filed by the Department of Justice — charges LMPD Detective Kelly Goodlett with conspiring with Jaynes to falsify the search warrant for Taylor’s home and to cover up their actions afterward. This is important: Hankison was acquitted by a Jefferson County jury for the way he discharged his weapon during the raid, but the federal charges are brought by a U.S. attorney without explicit appearance of trying to aid and abet the police. The civil rights and obstruction offenses regarding the warrant undermine the legality of the entire raid; Hankison's alleged recklessness would wreck any pretense of a good shoot, and convictions undermining the warrant would open a pathway to actually charging murder. "Thank God Attorney General Daniel Cameron did not get the last word in the death of Breonna Taylor," said Ben Crump. The civil rights attorney representing the Taylor family also observed it is "a great day to arrest the killers of Breonna Taylor". But, yeah, there is a rumor going around: Justice is coming. ____________________ Notes: Kobin, Billy. "4 former LMPD officers face federal charges in Breonna Taylor shooting". The Courier-Journal. 4 August 2022. Courier-Journal.com. 4 August 2022. https://bit.ly/3bBMJwl United States Department of Justice. "Current and Former Louisville, Kentucky Police Officers Charged with Federal Crimes Related to Death of Breonna Taylor". Office of Public Affairs. 4 August 2022. Justice.gov. 4 August 2022. https://bit.ly/3Q29jNA
how can a police officer not be accountable for discharging their weapon ? all the police who fired into the apartment should be on charges surely a serious police force would put eyes on the apartment and wait for it to be empty then search it to ensure they have evidence. instead there is some lust for shoot outs & gun fights
