A former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer with ties to the Breonna Taylor case is linked to a scandal regarding a unit of officers driving around town and throwing drinks at civilians.
Kelly Hanna Goodlett was among the officers who were under investigation in connection to a series of pranks dating back to five years ago where cops tossed beverages at random people, local station WAVE reported.
In 2022, Goodlett pleaded guilty to conspiring to falsify an affidavit to secure a warrant to search the home of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old essential worker who was fatally shot in March 2020 by officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department during a botched raid at her apartment. Goodlett also acknowledged that she tried to cover it up by lying to investigators afterward.
Last week, it was revealed that Goodlett’s supervisor, Sgt. Kevin Casper, was aware of the drink-throwing assaults from August 2018 to September 2019 and was included in a group where videos of the incidents were shared, according to the report. However, he didn’t report the unethical behavior.
Per the outlet, Casper argued that he believed the clips were TikTok videos and not cops from the department. He faced disciplinary action, a 30-day suspension with no pay, and a demotion earlier this year.
As USA Today reported, the police chief said that Goodlett, who was also in text message threads, would have been fired over the drink-throwing assaults if she had not resigned after being charged by the Department of Justice for her involvement in the Taylor case.
Other officers of the Ninth Mobile Unit — which comprises the group of officers who perpetrated the attacks — also faced suspension, but former detectives Bryan Wilson and Curtis Flynn received the worst consequences.
Wilson and former officer Curtis Flynn were sentenced to months behind bars after pleading guilty to federal civil rights charges, WDRB reported. The duo was accused of committing the acts dozens of times while in their uniforms and unmarked patrol cars. The footage was made public last week and condemned by local officials.
Videos obtained by WAVE show cops laughing as they splashed the drinks at people: “How about a drink?” one of the officers could be heard saying.
“The incidents, which happened in 2018 and 2019, were completely unacceptable and I’m thankful each of the officers caught throwing drinks at people have been prosecuted by the Department of Justice,” Mayor Craig Greenberg told WDRB in a statement. “There has also been a complete turnover in LMPD command staff since this happened, and the new chief has punished other officers who knew about the incidents and did not report them.”
