A federal judge has given former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison a 33-month prison sentence for breaching Breonna Taylor’s civil rights. Taylor was killed during a failed drug raid by law enforcement in 2020.
Hankison, aged 49, was found guilty last year of infringing on Taylor’s civil rights, which could have led to a life sentence. U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, appointed by President Donald Trump, delivered the sentence on Monday afternoon.
The previous week, the U.S. Justice Department recommended to a federal judge that Hankison receive just a one-day prison term and three years of supervised probation. The department highlighted in court documents that Hankison “did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.”
“It is unfathomable that, after finally securing a conviction, the Department of Justice would seek a sentence so drastically below the federal guidelines,” a statement from national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, Lonita Baker and Sam Aguiar, who represent the family of Taylor, said in a statement.
Former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison examines a document as he answers questions from the prosecution, March 2, 2022. (Timothy D. Easley, Pool, File)
Her death, as well as the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked mass racial justice protests around the country.
The Civil Rights Division during former Democratic President Joe Biden’s tenure brought criminal charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd’s death.
Former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison describes what he saw in the apartment of Breonna Taylor during testimony, March 2, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky. (Timothy D. Easley, Pool)
A separate jury deadlocked on federal charges against Hankison in 2023, and he was acquitted on state charges of wanton endangerment in 2022.
