Ex-US Policeman In Breonna Taylor Killing Sentenced To 33 Months
Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police department detective, was convicted by a jury in Kentucky in November of one count of abusing Breonna Taylor's civil rights for shots fired during a botched police raid on her home.
Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Trump Justice Department's civil rights division, in an unusual intervention, had asked Judge Rebecca Jennings last week to sentence Hankison to time served -- the single day he spent in jail at the time of his arrest.
But Jennings, who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump during his first term as president, rejected the recommendation and said she was troubled by the prosecutor's sentencing memorandum and arguments for leniency, the Louisville Courier Journal said.
She sentenced him to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Hankison faced a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The deaths of Taylor, 26, and George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, became the focus of a wave of mass protests in the United States and beyond against racial injustice and police brutality.
Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping in her Louisville apartment around midnight on March 13, 2020 when they heard a noise at the door.
Walker, believing it was a break-in, fired his gun, wounding a police officer.
Police, who had obtained a controversial no-knock search warrant to make a drug arrest, fired more than 30 shots back, mortally wounding Taylor.
Hankison fired 10 shots during the raid, some into a neighboring apartment, but did not hit anyone. He is the only police officer convicted in connection with the raid.
Dhillon, in her sentencing memorandum to the judge, had argued that a lengthy prison term for Hankison would be "unjust."
"Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death," she said. "Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms Taylor's home."
In May, the Justice Department announced that it was dropping lawsuits filed by the administration of former president Joe Biden against police forces in Louisville and Minneapolis that accused them of using excessive force and racial discrimination.
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DW
19 hours ago
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US ex-officer sentenced to prison over Breonna Taylor raid – DW – 07/22/2025
Breonna Taylor was shot dead by police when they arrived at her home around midnight with a no-knock warrant. The killing of a Black woman in Kentucky sparked a wave of protests across the US. A former Kentucky police officer was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Monday for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed five years ago. Kentucky police officers shot and killed Taylor, a Black woman, in March 2020 after they used a controversial no-knock warrant at her home. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota in May 2020 by a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the US and internationally. Civil rights attorneys for Taylor's family welcomed prison time but had hoped for a tougher sentence. "While today's sentence is not what we had hoped for — nor does it fully reflect the severity of the harm caused — it is more than what the Department of Justice sought," they said. "That, in itself, is a statement." The court heard that Taylor and her boyfriend were sleeping when they heard a noise at the door around midnight. Her boyfriend, believing it to be an intruder, fired his legally-owned gun, wounding a police officer. Police officers then opened fire, killing Taylor. 'A piece of me was taken from me that day," Taylor's mother Tanika Palmer told the court. Brett Hankison is the only officer to be convicted in connection with the incident. He fired 10 shots during the raid but didn't hit anyone. US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings said she was "startled" there weren't more people injured during the raid from Hankison's blind shots. In addition to almost three years in prison, Hankison was also sentenced to three years of supervised release afterwards. The charges against him carried a maximum sentence of life in prison. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video The Trump administration's Justice Department had recommended that Hankison be given no additional prison time beyond the one day he spent in jail at the time of his arrest. "Hankison did not shoot Ms Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death," Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, wrote in a rare memo to the judge. "Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms Taylor's home." However, Jennings said this recommendation treated the shooting as "an inconsequential crime" and would minimize the jury's verdict from November, which found Hankison guilty of using excessive force.
Int'l Business Times
21 hours ago
- Int'l Business Times
Ex-US Policeman In Breonna Taylor Killing Sentenced To 33 Months
A federal judge on Monday rejected an appeal for leniency by the Trump Justice Department and sentenced an ex-police officer to 33 months in prison for violating the civil rights of a Black woman whose 2020 killing fueled widespread protests. Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police department detective, was convicted by a jury in Kentucky in November of one count of abusing Breonna Taylor's civil rights for shots fired during a botched police raid on her home. Harmeet Dhillon, the head of the Trump Justice Department's civil rights division, in an unusual intervention, had asked Judge Rebecca Jennings last week to sentence Hankison to time served -- the single day he spent in jail at the time of his arrest. But Jennings, who was appointed to the bench by Donald Trump during his first term as president, rejected the recommendation and said she was troubled by the prosecutor's sentencing memorandum and arguments for leniency, the Louisville Courier Journal said. She sentenced him to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Hankison faced a maximum penalty of life in prison. The deaths of Taylor, 26, and George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, became the focus of a wave of mass protests in the United States and beyond against racial injustice and police brutality. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping in her Louisville apartment around midnight on March 13, 2020 when they heard a noise at the door. Walker, believing it was a break-in, fired his gun, wounding a police officer. Police, who had obtained a controversial no-knock search warrant to make a drug arrest, fired more than 30 shots back, mortally wounding Taylor. Hankison fired 10 shots during the raid, some into a neighboring apartment, but did not hit anyone. He is the only police officer convicted in connection with the raid. Dhillon, in her sentencing memorandum to the judge, had argued that a lengthy prison term for Hankison would be "unjust." "Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death," she said. "Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms Taylor's home." In May, the Justice Department announced that it was dropping lawsuits filed by the administration of former president Joe Biden against police forces in Louisville and Minneapolis that accused them of using excessive force and racial discrimination.
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
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Conservative Bots on X Post Mixed Messages As MAGA Divide Over Epstein Case Deepens
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