LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal jury on Friday acquitted a former police detective in Kentucky of charges that he violated the civil rights of Breonna Taylor’s neighbors by using excessive force during a botched 2020 drug raid that left Taylor dead.
The 12-member jury remained deadlocked on the second charge, with Brett Hankison using excessive force against Taylor, who was fatally shot by other officers. The jury could continue deliberating on that charge Friday evening, but they told the judge in two notes that they are deadlocked on that point.
Hankison fired ten shots at Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid, but did not hit anyone. Some shots flew into the neighbor’s adjacent apartment.
The death of the 26-year-old Black woman, along with the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020, sparked protests across the country against racial injustice.
Last year, a separate jury deadlocked on both charges, while a jury acquitted Hankison in 2022 on state wanton endangerment charges. A conviction on federal charges carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Hankison, 48, has argued that throughout the trial he acted to protect his fellow officers after Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at them as they broke down Taylor’s door with a battering ram. Walker shot and wounded one of the officers.
Hankison testified that when Walker fired, he walked away, turned the corner of the apartment and shot at Taylor’s glass door and a window.
Meanwhile, officers at the door returned fire from Walker, striking and killing Taylor, who was in a hallway.
Hankison’s attorneys argued during closing arguments Wednesday that Hankison acted appropriately “in a very tense, very chaotic environment” that lasted about 12 seconds. They emphasized that Hankison’s shots did not hit anyone.
Hankison was one of them four officers charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022 with violating Taylor’s civil rights. To date, these charges have resulted in only one conviction: a plea deal from a former officer who was not at the raid and became a cooperating witness in another case.
Hankison’s attorney Don Malarcik spoke at length during closing arguments about the role of Taylor’s friend, who fired the shot that killed former Sgt. John Mattingly at the door. He said Walker never tried to come to the door or turn on the lights while police were knocking, but instead armed himself and hid in the dark.
“Brett Hankison was just a foot away from being shot by Kenneth Walker,” Malarcik said.
Prosecutors say Hankison acted recklesslyfiring ten shots at doors and a window where he could see no target.
They said in closing that Hankison “violated one of the most basic rules of deadly force: If they can’t see the person they’re shooting at, they can’t pull the trigger.”
Neither of the officers who shot Taylor — Mattingly and former Detective Myles Cosgrove — were charged in Taylor’s death. Federal and state prosecutors have said these officers were justified in firing back because Taylor’s boyfriend shot at them first.