A federal judge on Monday sentenced former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison to nearly three years in prison for his role in the 2020 drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings handed down the sentence, rejecting a Department of Justice request for a far lighter punishment of just one day in prison and three years of supervised release, according to The New York Times.
Hankison was convicted of using excessive force after firing multiple rounds through a covered window and sliding glass door during the raid on Taylor’s apartment. None of Hankison’s shots struck Taylor, but the jury determined that his actions constituted unlawful use of force.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, had requested a token one-day sentence, which critics said would have effectively amounted to time served.
In response, attorneys for Taylor’s family, led by Ben Crump, expressed mixed feelings. “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,” they said in a statement.
Breonna Taylor, 26, was killed in March 2020 when police executed a late-night raid on her Louisville apartment as part of an investigation into Jamarcus Glover, a convicted drug trafficker and Taylor’s former boyfriend. Glover, who had previously used Taylor’s apartment and mailing address, was later sentenced to seven years in prison for probation violations.
On the night of the raid, Taylor’s then-boyfriend Kenneth Walker opened fire, striking one officer in the leg. Police returned fire, fatally shooting Taylor.
The case drew national attention in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death, becoming a flashpoint in the debate over police use of force and systemic racial bias in law enforcement.
Two other officers involved in the raid, former detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany, still face federal charges for civil rights violations and obstruction of justice.
