...Goodlett is accused of helping falsify a search warrant and filing a false report to cover it up, which could carry a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Goodlett’s testimony could be crucial as federal prosecutors pursue charges against three others — Sgt. Kyle Meany, former detective Joshua Jaynes and former detective Brett Hankison. They are charged with more serious civil rights offenses and could face life sentences if convicted.

Ben Crump, an attorney for Taylor’s family, expressed satisfaction after the court hearing. “The truth prevails!” he wrote on Twitter.

Goodlett resigned from the police department last week after she and her three former colleagues were charged in connection with Taylor’s death in March 2020. But unlike the others — Goodlett was not indicted. Rather, her charges were filed in a sealed “information,” which analysts said usually indicates a defendant has agreed to a plea deal with the government.

Meany, Jaynes and Hankison have pleaded not guilty, court records show....

Taylor, 26, was killed when plainclothes police officers burst into her apartment to carry out a search warrant in a drug probe. Kenneth Walker, Taylor’s boyfriend, fired a shot with his legally owned gun, striking an officer in the leg. He later said he did not realize the people who had entered the apartment were law enforcement officers. Several officers shot back, killing Taylor.

Investigators believe the fatal shots were fired by Myles Cosgrove, who was fired by the department but not criminally charged.

The Justice Department’s strategy “was a clever one,” McQuade said.

“There was a shooting, and someone died, and perhaps it was a crime, but it’s very difficult, as everyone knows, to prove a case in a police shooting because police officers have the authority to use deadly force,” McQuade explained. “To focus on the shooting itself was unlikely to go anywhere. What Justice did here was go back a step.”

Thomas Clay, an attorney for Jaynes, said he’s concerned about the possibility that Goodlett may have provided information to prosecutors. He said the federal government should not be prosecuting anyone involved in the case — especially not those who applied for the warrant.

“The reaction I’ve gotten from people in the law enforcement community has been pretty much shock and outrage,” Clay said. “They think that these prosecutions are unjustified and they’re politically motivated.”

Attorneys for Meany did not respond to requests for comment. Court records do not list lawyers for Goodlett and Hankison....