Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison following a civil rights conviction related to the March 2020 raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor.
The sentence was handed down despite the fact that Hankison’s shots did not strike or injure anyone during the operation.
The incident occurred during a late-night drug raid at Taylor’s apartment, where officers attempted to execute a search warrant.
Official reports state Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire on the officers as they entered the apartment, hitting one officer in the leg.
Officers returned fire in response.
Hankison, who was part of the raid team, moved to the side of the apartment and fired multiple shots through a glass door and a covered window.
None of the bullets he fired struck Taylor, Walker, or any of the apartment’s neighbors.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Hankison with civil rights violations, alleging that his conduct constituted the use of excessive force and unlawfully endangered human lives.
The charges were filed under 18 U.S.C. § 242, which criminalizes the willful deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law.
The DOJ claimed that Hankison’s decision to fire blindly into the apartment showed a reckless disregard for the safety of those inside and nearby.
Despite the lack of physical injuries caused by his gunfire, prosecutors pursued charges on the basis that Hankison’s conduct still violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the individuals involved.
A first trial held in 2023 ended in a mistrial after jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict.
The DOJ retried Hankison in 2024. This time, he was convicted of one count of using excessive force under federal civil rights law.
In court filings, the DOJ wrote, “Both counts [in state trial] arose from the same nucleus of facts: believing the officers were under attack, Defendant Hankison ran to the side of the apartment unit and fired blindly into Ms. Taylor’s home. Again, none of those shots wounded anyone.”
The filing went on to acknowledge the unusual nature of the prosecution. “After a recent review of many § 242 cases, counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone.”
Despite the conviction, the DOJ’s sentencing memorandum recommended that Hankison receive credit for one day already served, stemming from his original arrest and booking.
The Justice Department also noted that two federal trials were required to secure a conviction, and that the jury ultimately found Hankison guilty on only one of the charges brought forward.
“In this case, two federal trials were ultimately necessary to obtain a unanimous verdict of guilt,” the DOJ stated.
“But even then, the jury convicted on only one count, despite the fact that the elements of the charge and underlying conduct are essentially the same.”
Hankison is the only officer from the Taylor raid who has faced criminal charges related to the shooting, according to The Post Millennial reporting.
Other officers involved in the operation also discharged their firearms but were deemed to have acted within the bounds of the law, as they were returning fire after Walker shot at them first.
Walker admitted to firing his weapon at police, striking one officer in the leg. According to official reports, Taylor was killed during the officers’ return fire.
Walker was subsequently found responsible for Taylor’s death.
Taylor’s death sparked widespread protests in 2020 and renewed calls for law enforcement reform. However, the charges against Hankison were not related to Taylor’s death directly but rather focused on the risk posed to others as a result of his decision to fire without a clear target.
Fox 7 Austin reported that Hankison had previously faced charges in state court, where he was acquitted in 2022 of three counts of wanton endangerment.
Those charges were based on the same incident and were brought after it was determined that some of Hankison’s shots entered a neighboring apartment.
The post Ex-Cop Sentenced to Nearly Three Years in Prison Despite No Injuries During Breonna Taylor Raid appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Jordyn M.
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://resistthemainstream.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
