Brett Hankison found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights

Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison Found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights Police raid that killed him in March 2020.

The jury returned the verdict late Friday after returning a partial verdict acquitting Hankison on a separate charge that he violated the rights of his neighbors.

This is the second federal trial Hankison has faced, with the jury hearing testimony from more than a dozen witnesses in the past two weeks.

Federal prosecutors hoped to convince the jury through their arguments that Hankison clearly violated LMPD policy and put several people at risk at the apartment complex that night.

But Hankison’s defense argued that the former detective’s actions were justified based on his belief at the time that he had saved the lives of his fellow officers. During closing arguments, his attorneys also presented an 11th-hour defense of interrogation. Whether Taylor was still alive when Hankison firedThis proved to be a sticking point for jurors during deliberations.

Despite the plea, the jury of five white men, one Black man and six white women returned a guilty verdict after three days of deliberations.

Following the verdict, Taylor’s family burst into tears and hugged as they left the courtroom. Prosecutors requested that Hankison be taken into custody immediately, but the judge rejected this request.

Speaking outside the federal courthouse after the verdict, Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer said, “It took a lot of patience. It took a lot of time.” “It took 1,694 days. It was long, it was hard, I don’t know if there are any other words I can say other than ‘Thank God.'”

Hankison is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

Following the verdict, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division released a statement saying Hankison was “held accountable” for his actions.

“Breonna Taylor’s life mattered. “We hope that the jury’s verdict, recognizing this violation of Ms. Taylor’s civil and constitutional rights, will bring some solace to her family and loved ones who have suffered so deeply from the tragic events of March 2020,” said Clarke. “Use this moment to say her name and engrave Breonna Taylor’s life and lasting legacy on their hearts and minds.”

Here’s what happened in the case.

Breonna Taylor shooting: What happened that night?

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was in her South End apartment at the time of the incident. Shot dead by plainclothes police around 12:40 a.m. on March 13, 2020, during a botched narcotics investigation.

civil servantsThe suspect, who said that they knocked on the door several times and announced themselves before breaking in, said that he was attempting to provide a service. search warrant. The target of the investigation was not Taylor or her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who was in the apartment at the time, and no drugs were found in the home. Walker and several neighbors also said they did not hear the officers identify themselves as law enforcement.

As officers entered, Walker fired one shot from the handgun, striking an officer who was then-Sgt. John Mattingly, in the leg. Walker later said he believed the officers were intruders.

Hankison, who had been with the Louisville Metro Police for nearly 17 years at the time of the raid and was one of three officers who fired their weapons that night, fired 10 shots through a closed glass door and window into Taylor’s apartment. Three of these tours traveled He entered the adjacent apartment with a man, a pregnant woman and a 5-year-old child inside. None of the bullets Hankison fired hit Taylor or any of his neighbors.

Hankison was federally charged with violating the civil rights of Taylor and three neighbors in the adjacent apartment. First hearing on these charges resulted in a mistrial In November 2023, jurors were unable to agree on a verdict.

During deliberations, the jury asks: Was Breonna Taylor a ‘living victim’?

After nearly five hours of deliberation, the jury sent a question to the judge and attorneys asking whether they “needed to know whether Breonna Taylor was a living victim when Hankison fired (his gun).”

The jury instructions adopted by the prosecution and defense state Hankison is accused of disenfranchising Taylor, a “living victim.”

In the defense’s closing remarks, attorney Don Malarcik claimed the government offered no evidence that Taylor was alive That’s when Hankison fired his bullets, which prosecutors said “buzzed” Taylor’s head. In his rebuttal, prosecutor Michael Songer argued that Taylor was still alive in the seconds between the moment he was shot by other police officers and the moment Hankison fired, and asked jurors to use their “common sense.”

After the jurors’ question, the attorneys agreed to trust them to read the instructions given.

After deliberating for another 10 hours, the jury sent a note to the judge Friday afternoon saying they believed they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings brought Allen back into the courtroom to indict him, prompting jurors to reach a verdict.

After five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a note stating that “one matter remains in disagreement.” After bringing them back into the courtroom, Jennings told them they had the option of a partial verdict on one issue: whether to violate the civil rights of Taylor or three neighbors (Cody Etherton, Chelsey Napper and their young children) and potentially let the case continue. negotiate on the other.

They returned a not guilty verdict on the neighbor’s charges around 7 p.m., and returned to the courtroom around 9:30 p.m. with a guilty verdict on the Taylor charge.

Following the verdict, Taylor’s family attorney, Lonita Baker, criticized defense attorneys for Malarcik’s closing arguments against Walker, whom Malarcik called “guilty” and claimed he did not care about saving Taylor’s life that night.

“The Breonna Taylor family and the Walker family are standing here and standing strong together,” Baker said.

What other LMPD officers have been charged in the Breonna Taylor case?

Hankison was there One of four men federally charged in connection with raid on Taylor’s apartment. The others are former LMPD officers Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Goodlett and Kyle Meany.

Meany and Jaynes They were charged with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses for preparing and approving a false search warrant.

Goodlett was charged with a crime conspiring with Jaynes falsifying a search warrant for Taylor’s home and covering up his actions. In August 2022, He accepted this accusation. He is expected to be the star witness of the incident attempt Jaynes and Meany.

Reach reporter Rachel Smith at [email protected] or @RachelSmithNews on X, formerly Twitter.

Breonna Taylor shooting: What happened that night?

During deliberations, the jury asks: Was Breonna Taylor a ‘living victim’?

What other LMPD officers have been charged in the Breonna Taylor case?

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