Former Louisville Metro police officer Kelly Goodlett on Tuesday pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy related to the killing of Breonna Taylor, admitting that she helped falsify a search warrant and filed a false report after Taylor's death as part of a cover-up attempt.
Driving the news: It's the first conviction in a case that ignited protests across the country over police brutality and racial justice.
- Goodlett faces up to five years in prison, a fine of $ 250,000 and a three-year term of supervised release.
Catch up quick: The DOJ said Louisville police officers broke into Taylor's home in a March 2020 raid with a falsified "no-knock" search warrant for a drug investigation.
- The Kentucky attorney general said they knocked and announced their presence, but her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and some neighbors said they didn't hear anything of the sort. Walker has said he thought the officers were intruders.
- Officers used a police battering ram to break down her door even though she was not the main suspect and shot Taylor at least eight times after Walker fired his gun.
- Taylor was alive for at least 20 minutes after officers shot her and did not receive medical attention even though she showed signs of life, according to Walker and police dispatch logs.
Why it matters: In the announcement of Goodlett's guilty plea, the DOJ said Goodlett "admitted that all of the information in the warrant affidavit justifying a no-knock entry for Taylor’s home was false as it related to Taylor." ...
- Goodlett