Topline
Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police officer convicted in 26-year-old Breonna Taylor’s death, was sentenced Monday to 33 months in prison, according to an attorney representing Taylor’s family, with a judge rejecting a recommendation by the Justice Department for Hankison to serve no jail time.
The Justice Department argued there was “no need for a prison sentence” while claiming Hankison was … More
Key Facts
Hankison, 46, was convicted by a federal jury in November of violating Taylor’s civil rights while executing a search warrant on her home in March 2020, during which Taylor was shot and killed by the Louisville Metro Police Department.
Hankison, who fired 10 shots during a raid on Taylor’s home but did not hit anyone, apologized in a statement Monday to Taylor’s family and said he would “never have fired my gun” if he were aware of issues with how the search warrant was prepared, Reuters reported.
His sentencing follows a recommendation by the Justice Department last week arguing there was “no need for a prison sentence to protect the public” and requested Hankison be sentenced to time already served, amounting to one day, and three years of supervised probation.
Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings reportedly said a request for no further jail time was “not appropriate” for Hankison and noted she was “startled” that more people weren’t injured in the raid.
Crucial Quote
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who represented Taylor’s family, said in a statement he hoped for a longer sentence for Hankison, but noted, “We are grateful that he is going to prison and has to think for those three years about Breonna Taylor and that her life mattered.”
Key Background
Taylor and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker were asleep when Louisville police carried out a search warrant on their home in March 2020. Police forcefully opened the door to Taylor’s home after no one answered, leading Walker to fire his handgun once at the officers, believing they were intruders. Two officers returned fire, hitting and killing Taylor. At the time, Hankison did not fire from the entryway, according to the DOJ, and instead fired shots from the side of the building, one of which narrowly missed a young couple living next door. Hankison faced state charges of felony wanton endangerment in 2020, but was later acquitted. Former detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiring with a colleague to falsify the affidavit used to obtain the search warrant. Goodlett will be sentenced in 2026. Taylor’s death andGeorge Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis in May 2020 sparked nationwide protests that year, prompting a racial reckoning as demonstrators protested police violence against Black Americans.