Former officer Brett Hankison violated Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during deadly raid, jury finds

A jury on Friday found a former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer guilty of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights. a failed raid that led to her deathNBC affiliate WAVE Louisville reported.

The jury also acquitted Brett Hankison of a second count of violating the civil rights of Taylor’s neighbor.

Taylor, 26, was fatally shot by police in March 13, 2020raid, but not Hankison, and he was not charged in her death.

Hankison, 48, fired 10 shots into Taylor’s apartment, but none hit anyone. Some of his shots also flew into the neighboring apartment.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said she was at a loss for words and didn’t know what to think when the verdict was read.

“I’m grateful. I thank God,” Palmer told reporters Friday night. She thanked the jury, who she said took the time to understand the case.

The Justice Department retried Hankison’s case after the first jury deadlocked on both counts. ended in litigationin November 2023.

In 2020, police were at Taylor’s apartment looking for evidence in a drug investigation targeting her ex-boyfriend, who lived at a different address at the time.

Taylor’s boyfriend He fired a single shot toward the front door because he thought intruders had broken in, U.S. Attorney Merrick Garland said.

He said the two officers “immediately fired a total of 22 shots into the apartment,” one of which struck Taylor in the chest and killed her.

Hankison testified that he had to act quickly because he believed his fellow soldiers were being executed. Prosecutors accused him of shooting blindly.

In the current trial, which lasted about two weeks, the jury found Hankison not guilty of violating a neighbor’s rights and then returned to deliberate a count against Taylor herself.

The jury later returned with a guilty verdict in Taylor’s case, WAVE reported around 9:30 p.m. Some members of the jury cried when the verdict was announced: This was reported by the Associated Press..

The charge Hankison was convicted of carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.

Taylor’s murder sparked outrage across the country. President Joe Biden called her death a tragedy and said the country must enact meaningful police reforms.

In response to the raid, the Louisville City Council passed “Breonna’s Law” in 2020, which prohibits restraining orders by the police.

Hankison faced three trials in two years.

Hankison and three other officers or former officers were charged federally in 2022although only Hankison was present from the group during the raid.

Joshua Janes, Kyle Meaney and Kelly Goodlett were accused of obtaining a search warrant for Taylor’s home even though they knew police did not have probable cause to search it.

Goodlett, a former Louisville police detective, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in August 2022. She admitted that she conspired with Janes to falsify statements on Taylor’s warrant and concealed them by lying to investigators.

Sentencing is set for April 29, court records show.

Jaynes and Meaney remain charged with deprivation of rights under color of law.

Jaynes is also charged with conspiracy and falsifying records in a federal investigation. Meaney was also charged with making false statements to federal investigators. Both pleaded not guilty.

They were indicted Oct. 1 after a federal judge in August dismissed on felony charges in their previous indictment.

No one has been charged with state charges directly in Taylor’s death. State grand jury refused to press charges officer who fired the fatal shot.

Hankinson was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing shots into a neighbor’s apartment. He was acquitted in 2022.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.