KEY POINTS:
• The Department of Justice recommended on Wednesday that Hankison receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed in the Western District of Kentucky, according to ABC News
• Brett Hankison was found guilty of one count of violating Taylor’s civil rights in November 2024 after firing 10 shots into her apartment, as reported by ABC News and CNN
• Attorneys Ben Crump, Lonita Baker and Sam Aguiar, who represent Taylor’s family, called the sentencing recommendation “an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury’s decision” in a written statement, according to CNN
The former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer convicted of a civil rights offense in relation to the death of Breonna Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in federal court, according to ABC News.
Brett Hankison was found guilty of one count of violating Taylor’s civil rights after he blindly shot into Taylor’s apartment in March 2020, ABC News reported. According to NBC News, federal prosecutors said he fired 10 shots through a window and a sliding glass door that were covered with blinds and curtains.
Hankison’s bullets did not hit anyone, according to ABC News. NBC News reported that multiple bullets traveled through the wall and into an apartment next door but did not hit anyone.
DOJ Sentencing Recommendation
The Department of Justice recommended that Hankison should receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday, ABC News reported. NBC News reported that the sentencing memo seeks one day of incarceration, which is the length of time that Hankison spent behind bars when he was initially booked on charges.
According to NBC News, no career line prosecutors from the Justice Department signed off on the sentencing memo. NBC News reported the memo is instead signed by Trump administration official Robert J. Keenan, senior counsel for the Civil Rights Division, who was involved in the Justice Department’s effort to undo a jury verdict that found a former Los Angeles County deputy guilty of a felony charge in an excessive force case.
CNN reported that the filing was signed not by lawyers involved in the case or the career staff who usually handle sentencing requests, but by Trump’s appointee to run the Civil Rights Department Harmeet Dhillon and a senior non-career official in her division.
Background of the Case
Taylor was fatally shot during the 2020 raid, during which three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, striking one of the officers, according to ABC News.
According to CNN, Taylor was shot during a botched “no-knock” raid in 2020 when officers were searching for Taylor’s ex-boyfriend who was not in the home. CNN reported that Taylor’s boyfriend at the time, Kenneth Walker III, later said he thought they were intruders and opened fire at police officers.
Hankison fired 10 rounds through Taylor’s sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains, prosecutors said, according to ABC News. ABC News reported that several of the rounds traveled into Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment, where three people were at the time, and none of the 10 rounds hit anyone.
Legal Proceedings
According to NBC News, Hankison was convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law in November. CNN reported that Hankison was convicted on one count of abusing Taylor’s civil rights last year after firing several shots through Taylor’s bedroom window during a police raid.
According to CNN, in an apparent criticism of the Biden-era Justice Department’s handling of the case, Trump’s DOJ noted in their Wednesday filing that Hankison was acquitted in a state trial and that the first federal trial ended in a mistrial. CNN reported that prosecutors wrote: “In this case, two federal trials were ultimately necessary to obtain a unanimous verdict of guilt.”
According to search results from 19th News, the jury returned the verdict after deadlocking on whether to convict Hankison of violating the civil rights of Taylor’s neighbors, and Hankison went to trial on the same charges in 2023, but a judge declared a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a verdict on all charges.
DOJ Justification
In a sentencing memo filed late Wednesday, the Justice Department wrote that “reasonable minds might disagree as to whether defendant Hankison’s conduct constituted a seizure under the Fourth Amendment in the first place” and that there “is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from defendant,” according to NBC News.
According to CNN, the Justice Department argued that although Hankison “was part of the team executing the warrant, Defendant Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.”
CNN reported that prosecutors wrote in their filing: “Counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone.”
Family Response
Ben Crump Law published a statement from national civil rights attorneys Ben Crump, Lonita Baker, and Sam Aguiar, who represent the family of Breonna Taylor, in response to the Department of Justice’s recommendation.
“This recommendation is an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury’s decision,” the attorneys stated, according to Ben Crump Law. “Every American who believes in equal justice under the law should be outraged.”
The family’s attorneys stated: “This sets a dangerous precedent. When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone’s constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity,” according to Ben Crump Law.
According to the statement from Ben Crump Law, “The family asked for one thing: that Brett Hankison be sentenced in accordance with the law and federal guidelines. Instead, Tamika Palmer is left, once again, heartbroken and angry.”
The attorneys added that Palmer “is holding out hope and praying that the judge will do what the DOJ has refused to do –– uphold the law, respect the jury’s verdict, and deliver true justice for Breonna Taylor,” according to Ben Crump Law.
Political Reactions
According to search results from LPM (Louisville Public Media), Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he thinks Hankison’s “actions warrant a serious prison sentence.”
According to NBC News, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat who previously served as the state’s attorney general and is toying with a run for president, told reporters, “I think it’s important that they are treated like anyone else who is brought up on these charges and that the DOJ should not be playing politics in any case.”
Additional Context
According to CNN, the request for Hankison to serve one day behind bars would mean a sentence of time-served, meaning that he would not return to jail. CNN reported they are also asking Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings to sentence him to three years of supervised release.
According to CNN, Taylor’s killing became a pillar in the Black Lives Matter movement, and one of several cases that sparked nationwide protests against police violence in 2020.
NBC News reported that the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has undergone a massive overhaul since Trump took office in January, in which policy and personnel changes have led to a mass exodus.
Hankison is scheduled to be sentenced Monday, according to NBC News.
