Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police officer, was sentenced to 33 months in prison for his role in the March 2020 police raid that resulted in Breonna Taylor’s death. The Trump Justice Department had recommended that Hankison be sentenced to one day in jail for his role in the raid. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings issued her decision during a sentencing hearing attended by Hankison’s defense lawyers and members of Taylor’s family, who had demanded a long jail sentence. Hankison will face three years of supervised release after serving his sentence.
The Justice Department’s unusual request in a court filing last week recommending that Hankison be sentenced to one day in jail for his role in the March 2020 police raid at Taylor’s apartment in which she was fatally shot. He faced up to life in prison under federal sentencing guidelines. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, and the family’s attorneys told reporters outside the courthouse that federal prosecutors argued more vociferously on behalf of Hankison during the hearing than they did on Taylor’s behalf.
Hankison’s case has been closely watched by civil rights activists who have pressed for police accountability for Taylor’s death, which helped spark mass social justice protests that year. Hankison, who is White, fired 10 shots through Taylor’s apartment window and door, none of which struck Taylor, who was Black.
