A former Kentucky police officer, Brett Hankison , was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday after being convicted of using excessive force during a botched drug raid in 2020 that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor . The 12-member federal jury delivered the late-night verdict after clearing Hankison of another charge of using excessive force on Taylor’s neighbours earlier in the evening. This marks the first conviction of a Louisville officer involved in the fatal raid.
Emotions ran high in the courtroom as the verdict was read, with some jury members visibly tearful. After three days and more than 20 hours of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman jury reached a decision. They had initially reported a deadlock on the charge related to Taylor, but ultimately chose to continue deliberating. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, celebrated the outcome, stating: “It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard. The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice.”
Hankison fired 10 shots through Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid, although none struck anyone inside. Several rounds, however, entered a neighbouring apartment. Taylor’s death, along with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a few months later, ignited nationwide protests against racial injustice.
Civil rights leader Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the verdict “a long-awaited moment of accountability.” In a social media post, King wrote, “While it cannot restore Breonna to her family, it represents a crucial step in the pursuit of justice and a reminder that no one should be above the law.”
Hankison, 48, argued during the trial that he acted to protect his fellow officers when Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire after officers breached the door with a battering ram. The jury even sent a question to US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, asking if they needed to determine whether Taylor was alive when Hankison fired, a point of contention during closing arguments. Jennings encouraged them to continue deliberations.
Walker’s shot injured another officer, after which Hankison moved out of the line of fire and fired into the apartment. Prosecutors argued Hankison’s actions were reckless, as he fired 10 shots blindly through doors and windows without a visible target. “He violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force: If they cannot see the person they’re shooting at, they cannot pull the trigger,” prosecutors said during closing arguments.
Hankison was among four officers charged in 2022 by the Department of Justice with civil rights violations related to the raid. This conviction follows an earlier plea deal with another officer who wasn’t at the raid but later cooperated as a witness in related cases.
The sentence, imposed by Judge Jennings, is scheduled for March 12. Hankison’s attorney, Don Malarcik, argued that Hankison acted in a “very tense, very chaotic environment” and said that none of his shots struck anyone, adding that Hankison was "12 inches away from being shot by Kenneth Walker." However, federal prosecutors maintained Hankison acted unlawfully by firing without identifying a target.
Emotions ran high in the courtroom as the verdict was read, with some jury members visibly tearful. After three days and more than 20 hours of deliberation, the six-man, six-woman jury reached a decision. They had initially reported a deadlock on the charge related to Taylor, but ultimately chose to continue deliberating. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, celebrated the outcome, stating: “It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard. The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice.”
Hankison fired 10 shots through Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid, although none struck anyone inside. Several rounds, however, entered a neighbouring apartment. Taylor’s death, along with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis a few months later, ignited nationwide protests against racial injustice.
Civil rights leader Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., called the verdict “a long-awaited moment of accountability.” In a social media post, King wrote, “While it cannot restore Breonna to her family, it represents a crucial step in the pursuit of justice and a reminder that no one should be above the law.”
Hankison, 48, argued during the trial that he acted to protect his fellow officers when Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire after officers breached the door with a battering ram. The jury even sent a question to US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, asking if they needed to determine whether Taylor was alive when Hankison fired, a point of contention during closing arguments. Jennings encouraged them to continue deliberations.
Walker’s shot injured another officer, after which Hankison moved out of the line of fire and fired into the apartment. Prosecutors argued Hankison’s actions were reckless, as he fired 10 shots blindly through doors and windows without a visible target. “He violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force: If they cannot see the person they’re shooting at, they cannot pull the trigger,” prosecutors said during closing arguments.
Hankison was among four officers charged in 2022 by the Department of Justice with civil rights violations related to the raid. This conviction follows an earlier plea deal with another officer who wasn’t at the raid but later cooperated as a witness in related cases.
The sentence, imposed by Judge Jennings, is scheduled for March 12. Hankison’s attorney, Don Malarcik, argued that Hankison acted in a “very tense, very chaotic environment” and said that none of his shots struck anyone, adding that Hankison was "12 inches away from being shot by Kenneth Walker." However, federal prosecutors maintained Hankison acted unlawfully by firing without identifying a target.
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