Officer Kelly Goodlett Will Plead Guilty to Falsifying Breonna Taylor Search Warrant

Former Louisville Detective Kelly Goodlett pleads guilty to violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights after falsifying the search warrant that led to her murder by the Louisville Missouri Police Department. 

MLive reports

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Former Louisville police Detective Kelly Goodlett intends to plead guilty to a civil rights charge related to the fatal shooting of Grand Rapids native Breonna Taylor, during a botched police drug raid, the Associated Press reports.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot and killed when Louisville Metro Police served a no-knock warrant at her home on March 13, 2020, sparking racial justice protests across the country.

Goodlett is set to appear Monday, Aug. 22, before a federal judge to enter her plea, the AP reported Friday, Aug. 12, citing her lawyer, Brandon Marshall. Goodlett’s conviction would be the first conviction in the case.

The ex-detective will plead guilty to one count of conspiring to violate Taylor’s civil rights for helping falsify an affidavit for the search of her apartment, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported Friday. Goodlett faces up to five years in prison.

The federal government recently filed civil rights charges against Goodlett and three other current and former Louisville officers over the drug raid that led to Taylor’s death — codefendants Sgt. Kyle Meany and former detectives Joshua Jaynes and Brett Hankison.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said that the officers were charged with Fourth Amendment violations for pursuing a warrant they knew contained false information.

The police had been investigating drug dealers in the area, and the affidavit signed to obtain the warrant falsely alleged that one of the dealers had received a package at Taylor’s address.

Taylor was home with her boyfriend when the raid occurred. He fired a shot that hit an officer he said he believed was an intruder breaking into the home. The police fired multiple shots with five reportedly striking and killing Taylor.