Jury returns partial not guilty verdict in federal retrial of Breonna Taylor case

Brett Hankison, the former Louisville police officer accused of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a botched 2020 police raid, was acquitted on one count in the police retrial. federal case against him.

The jury found Hankison not guilty of violating the civil rights of three of Taylor’s neighbors who lived in an adjacent apartment, according to WHAS, an affiliate of Louisville ABC. However, jurors are deadlocked on a second indictment, accusing Hankison of violating Taylor’s civil rights. The judge instructed the jurors to continue deliberating on the matter.

The partial verdict came Friday evening after jurors sent a note to the judge earlier in the day saying they could not reach a verdict.

Taylor was fatally shot during the raid in March 2020. The three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, hitting one of the officers.

Hankison fired 10 bullets through Taylor’s sliding glass door and window, which were covered by blinds and curtains, prosecutors said. Some of the bullets landed in Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, where three people were there at the time. None of the ten rounds hit anyone.

Prosecutors have argued that Hankison’s use of force was unjustified, endangered people and violated the civil rights of Taylor and her three neighbors. The suit alleged that Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived her neighbors of the right to be free from deprivation of liberty without due process of law.

According to The Associated Press, several witnesses, including the current Louisville police chief, testified during the trial that the former officer violated Louisville police policy requiring officers to identify a target before firing.

The defense argued at trial that Hankison had joined a poorly planned raid and fired his weapon after he thought someone was approaching the other officers, the AP reported.

The charges carry a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted.

The first process ended in a mistrial last year, when the jury could not reach a unanimous decision after several days of deliberation.

The plainclothes officers were serving an arrest warrant looking for Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, who they alleged was dealing drugs, when they broke down the door to her apartment. He was not at the home, but her current boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thought someone was breaking into the house and fired one shot from a handgun, hitting one of the officers in the leg. The three officers returned fire, firing 32 bullets into the apartment.

The original indictment alleged that Hankison also violated Walker’s civil rights, although Walker was removed from the indictment at the start of the retrial.

The retrial marked Hankison’s third trial, following the initial mistrial and a state trial in 2022 in which he was acquitted of multiple charges of wanton endangerment.

As in his previous trials, Hankison took a stand during the retrial, becoming emotional at times during the two days of testimony. LAUNDRYthe ABC affiliate in Louisville that is handling the case in court.

Hankison told jurors he was “trying to stay alive and keep my partners alive,” according to WHAS.

Hankison insisted that “the only person my bullet could have hit was the shooter,” and said there was “zero risk” of hitting anyone outside the threat, according to LAUNDRY.

He said that night was the first time he fired his gun in nearly two decades of police work, according to the AP.

Hankison was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department for violating department procedure when he “wantonly and blindly” shot into the apartment.

The two other officers involved in the raid were not charged. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron called Taylor’s death a “tragedy” but said the two officers were justified in their use of force after being shot by Walker.