Louisville police sergeant facing federal civil rights charges in 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor I was fired. Louisville Metro Police Chief Erica Shields announced Friday that she has made the decision to fire her sergeant. Kyle Meaney says, "Considered carefully, it's not easy."
"I fully respect the judicial process and recognize that Sergeant Meaney has not yet been tried before a jury of her peers," she told CBS Her News. wrote in a statement obtained by “That said, after a lengthy investigation by the Department of Justice, he faces multiple federal indictments.
Meany has been indicted by the federal government in connection with the raid that led to Taylor's shooting death on August 4. is one of four current and former Louisville police officers who have been identified. Brett Hankison, Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Goodlett. Hankison and Jaynes have already been fired, and Louisville police reported earlier this month that "dismissal proceedings" for Goodlett and Meaney were underway.
21} The four face a range of civil rights violations, including illegal conspiracy, use of force, and obstruction of justice. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the civil rights charges against three of the officers were based on falsification of affidavits used to obtain search warrants authorizing an early morning search of Taylor's apartment.Taylor, a 26-year-old paramedic, said on March 13, 2020, that Louisville police officers broke into her apartment and took her with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. I was shot while I was sleeping. Thinking the officers were intruders, Walker fired a handgun and hit her in the leg when they walked in. The officers responded by firing 22 shots into the apartment, one of which was Taylor hit her in the chest and killed her.
In the indictment, prosecutors said Goodlett and Jaynes included false and misleading information in the search warrant application. Specifically, a postal inspector notified Goodlett that a drug trafficking investigation target had received a package at Taylor's address. Prosecutors claim it was false, but their superior, his Meany, approved the warrant application anyway.
Meany is also accused of lying to investigators about an unannounced break into Taylor's home by a police officer. According to the complaint, Meany told his FBI that his officers executed the warrant at the request of his SWAT unit, but in fact the unit made no such request. I knew
In March, Hankison was acquitted by a Kentucky jury and another indictment disqualified him for firing 10 people. was indicted on his two counts of Go through the windows and glass doors of Taylor's apartment.
– Stefan Becket contributed to this report.
Thank you for reading CBS NEWS.
Create a free account or log in to
for more features.
