Former cop convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s rights during fatal raid

Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison was found guilty Friday night of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during a raid on her apartment that ultimately led to her death in 2020.

The ruling is the first to blame sentence that the jury found in Hankison’s favor regarding Taylor’s death. Last year, another jury deadlocked on the case, resulting in a mistrial, and he was found not guilty of wanton endangerment in 2022. according to the Associated Press.

The new jury deliberated more than 20 hours over three days and twice told the judge that they, too, were deadlocked. However, they were asked to continue their discussion and eventually reached their verdict.

Hankison was charged with violating Taylor’s civil rights by using excessive force and her neighbor’s rights, although he was found not guilty Friday of violating the neighbor’s rights. Prosecutors argued that Hankison fired blindly into Taylor’s home during the raid, but he was not charged with her murder because none of his shots hit anyone.

A former Kentucky police officer testified that he had to act quickly and act smartly because he thought his fellow officers were being killed. But prosecutors said he “violated one of the most fundamental rules of the use of deadly force: If they can’t see the person they’re shooting at, they can’t pull the trigger.”

The raid on Taylor’s home was actually intended for her boyfriend, who lived at a different address at the time. During the search, the boyfriend was at her home, but opened fire on the police because, according to him, he believed that someone had broken in.

Hankison’s sentencing date has not yet been set, but he faces life in prison for this sentence.

Taylor’s death fueled the Black Lives Matter movement, which led to riots against police officers in the summer of 2020.

Misty Severy is the evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.