Breonna Taylor, an African American medical worker, was murdered by Louisville law enforcement in March 2020 in her home after a misled pursuit of a drug dealing operation, according to a New York Times article. In her memory, students on campus created a memorial at the entrance of Sherman Dining Hall. The memorial has since been moved to the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Office after nearly two years, according to a sign posted in Sherman.
“After two years on public display, the makeshift memorial has been disassembled and moved to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI),” reads the posted sign.
The memorial sat in the window near the entrance to Sherman. There was a hand-drawn portrait made of Taylor memorializing her. Surrounding the portrait were photos of Taylor as well as flowers and LED candles.
“The Breonna Taylor Memorial created an opportunity for Brandeis community members to come together to mourn and reflect on the tragic loss, while also raising awareness about the systematic gendered racism that disproportionately affects Black Women,” according to the sign.
In July 2020, a petition circled in the Brandeis community demanding justice for Taylor, according to an email sent to community members on July 7 by Lucas Malo, director of the Department of Community Service. At the time, Taylor’s killers had still not been sentenced for their crime, even though it was four months after the murder.
Over two years since the murder occured, new evidence was revealed that the police detectives falsified information on the warrant issued to search Taylor’s home in relation to a drug dealing operation, according to the district court document. The police officers violated “Fourth Amendment rights by obtaining and approving a search warrant based on ‘materially false’ information,” reads the document.
On Aug. 23, the former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Detective Kelly Goodlett pled guilty in federal court to conspiring to commit two federal crimes, according to a Department of Justice page. In Goodlett’s plea, she admitted to falsifying the information used to obtain the affidavit, without the falsified information there would not have been probable cause to have the search warrant issued, according to the page.
“To establish probable cause, information in an affidavit accompanying a search warrant must be truthful and timely. Goodlett admitted that she knew that the affidavit in support of the warrant to search Taylor’s home was false, misleading and stale,” according to the immediate release from the Department of Justice.
In the plea, Goodlett also admitted to the court that the suspect they were looking to search in relation to the drug dealing operation—J.G.—had not been known to have visited Taylor’s residence in the weeks leading up to the search warrant’s issue.
Also, in the wrongful nature of the warrant issued the Louisville police department secured a “no-knock entry” because, “the alleged drug dealers that LMPD was investigating had a history of fleeing from the police and destroying evidence,” according to the document. Goodlett admitted to the courts that none of the information provided for the “no-knock entry” warrant was true in regards to Taylor.
In addition to having the warrant falsified, after Taylor’s death Goodlett admitted to being involved in conspiring to obstruct justice, according to the immediate release document. Goodlett and other Louisville Police Department detectives provided false information to investigators looking into Taylor’s death. “Goodlett stated that she and the other detective provided a false ‘investigative letter’ to criminal investigators, repeating the false and misleading claims from the warrant affidavit about J.G. receiving packages at Taylor’s home and using Taylor’s home as ‘his residence,’” reads the document.
The Brandeis Hoot reached out to the Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion LeManuel “Lee” Bitsóí for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
