Former Louisville Police Officer Will Plead Guilty in Breonna Taylor Case

Brad Callas
·2 min read
5
Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images
Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images

Kelly Goodlett, a former Louisville Police Department Detective charged for her alleged role in the March 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor, plans to plead guilty.

The New York Times reports Goodlett, 35, confirmed the plea with her attorney during an online court hearing Friday, and is scheduled to appear Aug. 22 before U.S. District Judge David Hall to enter her plea. Goodlett has since been released on a $10,000 bond, with Judge Regina S. Edwards in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Kentucky ordering her to give up her passport and remove all firearms from her home.

Goodlett is charged with one count of conspiracy for her alleged role in falsifying an affidavit to search Taylor’s apartment, which ultimately led to the 26-year-old’s death.

Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced federal charges against Goodlett, as well as three other former and current Louisville police officers in connection with Taylor’s death. The charges allege Goodlett, alongside former detective Joshua Jaynes and former sergeant Kyle Meany, violated Taylor’s Fourth Amendment rights by searching her home.

“The federal charges announce today allege that members of the Place Based Investigations unit falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant of Taylor’s home, that this act violated federal civil rights laws, and that those violations resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said at the time.

Garland added, “When those officers executed the search warrant, Ms. Taylor was at home with another person who was in lawful possession of a handgun. When officers broke down the door to Ms. Taylor’s apartment, that person, believing that intruders were breaking in, immediately fired one shot, hitting the first officer at the door. Two officers immediately fired a total of 22 shots into the apartment. One of those shots hit Ms. Taylor in the chest and killed her.”

Goodlett’s next court appearance will be on Aug. 22.