Brett Hankison, a former Kentucky police officer who was convicted in the death of Breonna Taylor, was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Monday.
The prison term will be followed by three years of supervised probation. In November 2024, Hankison was found guilty of using excessive force on Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, and depriving her of her civil rights.
During the police raid on March 13, 2020, Hankison blindly fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment, according to federal authorities. He however did not fire the bullets that killed Taylor, who was asleep in her bed, officials said.
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As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Taylor was with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker when she was shot by three Louisville police officers who broke into her apartment in the name of executing a no-knock search warrant in a narcotics investigation on March 13, 2020. The couple was sleeping at the time.
The officers fired into the home after an officer, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, was struck by a bullet that Walker initially fired. Walker had claimed he opened fire because he thought an intruder was trying to enter the home. Taylor was shot and killed after the officers returned fire.
Shortly after the shooting, Walker faced charges including assault and attempted murder of a police officer. But authorities moved to permanently dismiss those charges.
An investigation showed that ex-Louisville police detective Myles Cosgrove fired the shots that killed Taylor.
Two former Louisville officers were later accused of falsifying the search warrant used to enter Taylor’s home. The two officers were not present at the time of the shooting but are facing federal charges. In 2023, Kelly Goodlett, who was not present during the raid, pleaded guilty to charges related to obtaining the warrant.
Hankison is the only officer who has been charged and convicted directly in connection with the botched raid.
Ahead of his sentencing, the Department of Justice recommended Hankison should be sentenced to one day in prison, with credit for time served. Hankison is the only officer who has been charged and convicted directly in connection with the botched raid.
Prior to his sentencing, the Department of Justice recommended Hankison should be sentenced to one day in prison, with credit for time served.
Reacting to Hankinson’s sentence, attorneys for Taylor’s family said to People, “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. That, in itself, is a statement. The jury found Brett Hankison guilty, and that verdict deserved to be met with real accountability.”
“We respect the court’s decision,” added attorneys Ben Crump, Lonita Baker, and Sam Aguiar. “But we will continue to call out the DOJ’s failure to stand firmly behind Breonna’s rights and the rights of every Black woman whose life is treated as expendable.”
