Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison has been convicted of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor when she died during a botched drug raid in 2020. A jury of six men and six women reached the verdict around 9:30 p.m. on Friday after deliberating for more than 20 hours over three days, the Associated Press reported. Hankison, one of the four officers who faced charges for Taylor’s death, becomes the first convicted officer who was involved in the raid.
“Breonna Taylor’s life mattered,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, per The AP. “We hope the jury’s verdict recognizing this violation of Ms. Taylor’s civil and constitutional rights brings some small measure of comfort to her family and loved ones who have suffered so deeply from the tragic events of March 2020.”
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, also expressed relief outside the federal courthouse after hearing the verdict.
“It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard,” Palmer said, The AP. “The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice.”
Although Hankison didn’t hit anybody during the deadly raid, he fired 10 shots at Taylor’s home, with some of the shots striking a neighbor’s house. Hankison told the court that he opened fire in self defense after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at the officers as they broke down the door. That’s when Hankison’s colleagues fired back at Walker and fatally struck Taylor.
Sgt. John Mattingly and former Detective Myles Cosgrove, the officers who shot Taylor, were not charged in Taylor’s death. Federal and state prosecutors said the officers had the right to fire back in self defense as Walker shot at them.
In regards to Hankison, his lawyers said he acted properly “in a very tense, very chaotic environment” and he didn’t hit anyone. Prosecutors, however, said Hankison acted recklessly when he fired 10 shots into the home while he couldn’t see anything in the darkness.
“(Hankison) violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force: If they cannot see the person they’re shooting at, they cannot pull the trigger,” prosecutors said.
Civil rights activist Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., said the verdict against Hankison is “a long-awaited moment of accountability.”
“While it cannot restore Breonna to her family, it represents a crucial step in the pursuit of justice and a reminder that no one should be above the law,” King wrote on Instagram.
Hankison, who will be sentenced on March 12, could face life in prison.
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