Justice Dept Charges 4 Louisville Officers who Murdered Breonna Taylor with Civil-Rights Crimes. Charging Document says Cops Knew They Had No Probable Cause and Falsified Affidavit for Warrant

From [HERE] The Justice Department has charged four current and former Louisville police officers in connection with the death of Breonna Taylor more than two years after she was fatally shotin her home during a botched police raid.

The officers face charges including civil-rights offenses, charges of excessive force, conspiracy and obstruction, Attorney General Merrick Garland said.

Ms. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency-medical technician in Kentucky’s largest city, was asleep with her boyfriend in March 2020 when police, who had secured a no-knock warrant to search her home in connection with a drug case, forced entry into her apartment. Ms. Taylor’s boyfriend, thinking the officers were intruders, shot at them. Three Louisville officers responded by firing more than 30 bullets, at least six of which hit Ms. Taylor, one of them fatally, officials have said.

The charges announced Thursday say the officers falsified the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant, knowing they lacked probable cause for the search, among other offenses, Mr. Garland said.

“We allege that the defendants knew their actions and falsifying the affidavit could create a dangerous situation, and we allege these unlawful acts resulted in Ms. Taylor’s death,” Mr. Garland said.