The Justice Division is recommending {that a} former Louisville police officer discovered responsible of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights serve simply in the future in jail—a transfer that’s drawing scrutiny from civil rights advocates.
Brett Hankison, who was convicted final 12 months on one depend of civil rights violations for his actions in the course of the botched 2020 raid that killed Taylor, is scheduled to be sentenced Monday. Federal prosecutors are asking that he obtain time served—basically a one-day sentence—together with three years of supervised launch.
The Justice Division argued in a courtroom submitting this week that whereas Hankison fired a number of rounds into Taylor’s house, he didn’t shoot or kill her.
“Defendant Hankison didn’t shoot Ms. Taylor and isn’t in any other case liable for her loss of life,” the DOJ wrote, based on CNN.
Taylor’s loss of life turned a 2020 Black Lives Matter flashpoint, sparking nationwide protests. A lowered sentence for Hankison may renew frustrations amongst activists who say police are hardly ever held accountable.
Prosecutors argued the case is unprecedented, writing, “Counsel is unaware of one other prosecution wherein a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of one other particular person underneath the Fourth Modification for returning fireplace and never injuring anybody,” CNN reviews.
Hankison fired ten pictures in the course of the raid—none of which struck Taylor—however a number of bullets entered a neighboring house the place a person, a pregnant girl, and a toddler had been current. He was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Division in June 2020.
Taylor was killed 5 years in the past when police executed a late-night “no-knock” warrant as a part of a drug investigation tied to her ex-boyfriend, who didn’t reside on the residence. Her then-boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, fired at what he believed had been intruders and officers returned fireplace.
The DOJ’s sentencing suggestion was signed not by the standard profession prosecutors however by Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee now main the Civil Rights Division, and a senior non-career official in her workplace.
Of their submitting, prosecutors identified that Hankison was acquitted throughout a earlier state trial, and that it took two federal trials—one ending in a mistrial—earlier than a jury reached a responsible verdict on only one depend.
“The jury’s verdict will virtually definitely be sure that Defendant Hankison by no means serves as a legislation enforcement officer once more and also will doubtless be sure that he by no means legally possesses a firearm once more,” the DOJ wrote.
Hankison’s authorized workforce additionally requested leniency, noting that the previous officer has confronted threats and abuse for the reason that case made nationwide headlines.
“Mr. Hankison is prone to abuse primarily based on his standing as a police officer, coupled with the intensive nationwide and worldwide media consideration this case has generated over the previous five-plus years,” his attorneys wrote.
Hankison is the one officer convicted in reference to the raid that killed Breonna Taylor. His sentencing is about for Monday.
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