The jury was deadlocked on both counts against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, who fired stray bullets in the raid.
The Associated Press is reporting that jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on federal civil rights charges Thursday in the trial of a former Louisville police officer charged in Breonna Taylor’s death, prompting the judge to declare a mistrial.
Brett Hankison was charged with using excessive force that violated the rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend and her next-door neighbors. Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor’s window and a glass door after officers came under fire during a flawed drug warrant search on March 13, 2020. Some of his shots flew into a neighboring apartment, but none of them struck anyone.
“But he fired anyway. . . .”
The 12-member, mostly white jury struggled to reach a verdict over several days. On Thursday afternoon, they sent a note to the judge saying they were at an impasse.
According to NBC’s reporting, “[Hankison] faced a maximum sentence of life in prison. Federal prosecutors could decide to retry Hankison.”
“He was accused of using excessive force when he fired 10 shots into Taylor’s window and a glass door after officers came under fire during the flawed drug warrant search on March 13, 2020. Some of his shots flew into a neighboring apartment, but none of them struck anyone.
During the early-morning raid, officers opened fire, killing Taylor, after her boyfriend, believing an intruder was trying to break in, fired a gun toward the door. Taylor’s boyfriend lawfully possessed the gun. After he fired and wounded an officer, two officers then fired 22 shots, one of which fatally struck Taylor in the chest, officials have said.“
Daniel Cameron, the Attorney General at the time, ultimately brought no charges against the officers involved, except for 3 charges of Wanton Endangerment against Hankison. The state investigation yielded no charges against the other two officers who shot multiple rounds into the Taylor apartment in response to the one round fired by Taylor’s boyfriend (who says he thought the police were intruders).
Cameron recently ran for Governor in Kentucky and received the endorsement of the police union,: “Republican Daniel Cameron’s bid for governor won support from Kentucky’s largest police union on Tuesday, providing a boost for the attorney general who led an investigation.that yielded no charges against any of the officers
. . . .On Tuesday, [Nov.7, 2023] state FOP President Berl Perdue Jr. referred to Cameron as a steadfast ally who has “had our backs” as attorney general. The group, which represents more than 10,000 active and retired officers, said it looked forward to helping the Republican’s campaign. (WLKY – AP )