A former Kentucky police officer, Brett Hankison, has been found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a botched raid at her home in 2020. The 47-year-old now faces a potential life sentence for using excessive force against the 26-year-old emergency room technician.
However, he was acquitted on a separate charge of violating the rights of Taylor’s neighbour. This conviction marks the first time any officer has been found guilty in connection with the fatal 13 March 2020 raid that turned Taylor’s name into a rallying cry for racial justice.
According to The Louisville Courier Journal, Taylor’s family broke down in tears following the verdict on Friday. Despite prosecutors’ requests, the judge declined to take Hankison into custody immediately.
The jury, composed of five white men, one black man, and six white women, began their deliberations on Wednesday. The indictment charged Hankison with depriving Taylor of her right to be free from unreasonable seizure and her neighbours of due process. Hankison, who fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment, said he was acting to protect his fellow officers after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police broke down the door.
Reflecting on the lengthy journey to justice, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, stated, “1,694 days it took. It was long, it was hard… thank God.”
During his two-day testimony, Hankison said he was “trying to stay alive, trying to keep my partners alive.” He is the first of four officers involved to face trial. Former officer Kelly Goodlett had earlier pleaded guilty to falsifying the search warrant for Taylor’s home, and new federal charges were recently issued against two other officers after a judge dismissed initial charges earlier this year.
Taylor was killed when officers, executing a “no-knock” search warrant, broke into her home while she and Walker slept. Walker, thinking they were intruders, fired a shot, prompting officers to respond with 32 rounds, one of which killed Taylor. While none of Hankison’s bullets hit anyone, they entered a neighbouring apartment occupied by a family.
An erroneous police report following the incident incorrectly stated that Taylor had no injuries and that no force was used to enter her home, despite a battering ram being employed. Hankison was later dismissed from the Louisville Metro Police Department in June 2020.
Hankison’s sentencing is scheduled for 12 March next year. This case has led to multiple reforms in Louisville, following both local outrage and two previous trials: a federal mistrial in 2023 and a 2022 state jury acquittal on charges of wanton endangerment. Both Taylor’s family and Walker received settlements from the city over the incident.
