Former Louisville officer Brett Hankinson guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A jury on Friday found former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a botched 2020 police raid. federal lawsuit against him.

Earlier in the evening, a jury acquitted Hankison of violating the civil rights of Taylor’s three neighbors who lived next door and were also shot during the raid. But jurors deadlocked on the other issue involving Taylor and sent a note to the judge saying they couldn’t reach a verdict. The judge instructed jurors to continue deliberating, and the jury returned a guilty verdict hours later, according to Louisville ABC affiliate WHAS.

Taylor was fatally shot during the March 2020 raid. The three officers fired dozens of shots after the boyfriend fired one shot at them and then fired at one of the officers.

Prosecutors said Hankison fired 10 shots at Taylor’s sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains. Many of the bullets went into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, where three people were present at the time. None of the 10 bullets hit anyone.

Prosecutors argued Hankison’s use of force was unjustified, endangered people and violated the civil rights of Taylor and three neighbors. The indictment alleged that Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived his neighbors of the right to be deprived of liberty without due process.

Multiple witnesses, including Louisville’s current police chief, testified during the trial that the former officer violated Louisville police policy that requires officers to identify a target before shooting, the Associated Press reported.

The defense argued during the trial that Hankison participated in a poorly planned raid and fired his gun after believing someone was advancing on other officers, the AP reported.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted.

first try resulted in a mistrial Last year, the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict after deliberating for several days.

Plainclothes officers broke down the door of Taylor’s home while serving a search warrant for Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, who they claimed was dealing drugs. She was not at home, but her current boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was breaking into the house and fired a single shot from his gun, hitting one of the officers in the leg. All three officers returned fire, firing 32 bullets into the apartment.

The original indictment also alleged that Hankison violated Walker’s civil rights, but Walker was removed from the charge at the beginning of the retrial.

The retrial was the first mistrial for Hankison, as well as the third following a 2022 state trial in which he was acquitted of multiple wanton endangerment charges.

As in his previous trials, Hankison took the stand during the retrial and became emotional at times during his two days of testimony. WHYABC’s affiliate in Louisville is monitoring the case from the courtroom.

Hankison told jurors he was “trying to survive.” (And) “I’m trying to keep my partners alive,” according to WHAS.

Hankison insisted that “the only person my bullet could hit was the shooter” and said the risk of hitting anyone other than the threat was “zero.” WHY.

According to the AP, he said he fired a gun that night for the first time in his nearly 20 years of police work.

Hankison was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department for violating the department’s procedures by “unintentionally and blindly” firing into the apartment.

No charges were filed against the other two police officers who participated in the raid. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron called Taylor’s death a “tragedy” but said the two officers were justified in using force after Walker opened fire.