A federal jury has found former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison guilty of using excessive force and violation of civil rights during the 2020 raid that resulted in the death of Breonna Taylor.
Hankison was convicted on one count related to the shots he fired into Taylor’s apartment during the botched drug raid. He was acquitted on a separate charge related to endangering Taylor’s neighbors.
This verdict marks the first conviction of a Louisville police officer involved in the raid that led to Taylor’s death. The case, along with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked widespread protests and calls for racial justice reform.
Hankison’s conviction carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. He had previously been acquitted on state charges and faced a deadlocked jury in a prior federal trial.
During the trial, Hankison argued that he fired his weapon to protect his fellow officers after they were shot at by Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.
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Walker, who was not aware the intruders were police officers, fired a warning shot that wounded one officer.
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