The hospital worker was shot multiple times as officers stormed her home in a “no-knock” raid in 2020.
Image source, FacebookFour US police officers have been arrested and charged over the fatal 2020 shooting of Breonna Taylor.
Ms Taylor was killed in her home in Louisville, Kentucky by plainclothes police who were executing a “no-knock” search warrant.
The hospital worker, 26, was shot multiple times as officers stormed the apartment shortly after midnight as she was in bed with her boyfriend.
Her death sparked racial injustice protests around the country.
Only one officer involved in the raid – former Louisville detective Brett Hankinson – had been previously charged over the case.
But Mr Hankinson, who fired 10 shots during the incident, was acquitted by a jury earlier this year. He is among the four people to face new charges through the US Department of Justice.
The others are Joshua Jaynes, also a former officer, and current officers Kelly Hanna Goodlett and Kyle Meany.
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the new charges on Thursday. He said the officers were being charged with civil rights offenses, unlawful conspiracy, unconstitutional use of force and obstruction.
Mr Garland added that three of the officers – all but Mr Hankinson – had been charged with falsification of a search warrant.
Mr Hankinson is charged with using excessive force by opening fire during the raid.
The search warrant obtained by police included Ms Taylor’s name and address. Authorities believed her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, was involved in a drug ring and had used her apartment to hide narcotics.
No drugs were found at the property, though Jefferson County Prosecutor Thomas Wine said the search was cancelled after the shooting.
In 2020, the Taylor family sued Louisville police and reached a $12m (£9m) settlement.
Her death – along with that of two black men, George Floyd in Minnesota and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia – sparked anti-racism protests across the US and the globe.