A former police officer has been convicted of violating Breona Taylor’s civil rights in a botched raid on her home in the US state of Kentucky four years ago. Former officer Brett Hankison, 47, was convicted of excessive force and faces up to life in prison.
Breonna Taylor, 26, was an emergency room technician who died of gunfire during a raid on her home on March 13, 2020. After this incident, a large- scale anti- racism movement was ignited in America. Hankison was tried for the third time, and this time the verdict marked the first conviction of any police officer in the Breonna Taylor case.
Taylor’s family broke down in tears in court after hearing the verdict. The government sought Hankison’s immediate detention, but the judge denied it.
The jury, made up of five white men, one black man and six white women, began deliberations Wednesday. Hankison was accused of depriving Taylor of his right to be protected from unlawful seizure and violating his neighbors’ liberties without due process.
Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment. They said they shot to protect other police officers, as Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot an officer after breaking down the door.
It was Hankison’s third trial, and he spent two days in court trying to defend himself and his colleagues. Hankison was the first of four police officers charged in the Taylor case to be brought before a jury.
Another former officer, Kelly Goodlett, admitted to creating a fake search warrant for Taylor’s home. Federal charges against the remaining two officers were dropped by a court a few months ago, but the Justice Department has re- indicted them.
Taylor’s death resulted from a “no- knock” search warrant. Taylor and her boyfriend, Walker, were asleep when the police broke into their house in plainclothes in the morning. Authorities suspected that Taylor’s ex- boyfriend had hidden drugs in her home.
As the door burst open, Walker panicked and fired a shot, which struck Sergeant John Mattingly in the leg. Walker claimed that the police entered without identifying themselves and he thought the house had been burglarized. At that point, three officers fired 32 shots in response. Another officer fired the shot that killed Taylor, but prosecutors say that shot was justified because Walker had fired first.
Hankison’s bullets did not injure anyone, but they penetrated a neighboring apartment, where a pregnant woman, a five- year- old boy and a man were sleeping. The incident report contained several errors, such as stating that Taylor was not injured and that no force was used to open the door, although a battering ram was used to break the door.
Hankison was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in June 2020. Last year, a jury in the federal case against him dismissed the case without reaching a unanimous verdict. In 2022, a Kentucky state jury acquitted Hankison of three charges.
Taylor’s family and Walker’s boyfriend have received compensation from the city for the incident. Also, many police reforms have been implemented in Louisville. Hankison is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12 next year.
