Today, the US Minister of Justice issued federal charges against four police officers involved in the death of Breonna Taylor.

Taylor was shot dead in her Louisville apartment in 2020 and became an icon for the Black Lives Matter movement.

The police used a contentious "no-knock" warrant to access the flat, authorizing them to break down the door without warning. 

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the four officers were charged with civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracy, unconstitutional use of force, and obstruction.

Prior to this hearing, local courts had charged only one of the officers involved in the incident, not for the death of the young woman but for having "endangered" her neighbor. His acquittal in March was seen as a denial of justice by anti-racism activists.

Garland said three of the officers -- Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Goodlett, and Kyle Meany -- were charged with falsification of a search warrant in a suspected drug trafficking case.

They are now charged with violating Taylor's rights by seeking a warrant to search her home when they knew they lacked probable cause for such a search.

The fourth officer, Brett Hankison, was charged with using excessive force by opening fire wildly during the raid that left Taylor dead.

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