Former US Police Officer Guilty of Civil Rights Violation in Breonna Taylor’s Death | Black lives matter news matters

A jury found Brett Hankison used excessive force during a botched 2020 police raid in which a Black woman was shot.

A former Kentucky State Police officer was convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose death during a police raid sparked racial justice protests across the United States in 2020.

Brett Hankison, a former Louisville police officer, was convicted of civil rights violations on Friday, and a 12-person federal jury found that he used excessive force against Taylor during the raid.

Hankison fired 10 shots at Taylor’s glass doors and windows during the raid, but hit no one. Some of the shots were fired at the neighbor’s apartment next door.

Taylor, an emergency medical technician, was sleeping with her boyfriend on March 13, 2020, when police conducted a no-knock raid and broke into her apartment. Taylor’s boyfriend shot once at what he believed to be intruders. The three officers responded with 32 shots, six of which struck Taylor, killing her.

Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, celebrated the verdict with friends outside court, saying: “It took a long time. It took a lot of patience. It was difficult. The jury took their time to truly understand that Breonna deserved justice.

Hankison was one of four officers charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022 for violating Taylor’s civil rights. He is the first person convicted and faces life imprisonment. The verdict is scheduled for March next year.

Prosecutors said Hankison acted recklessly and “violated one of the most basic rules of the use of deadly force: If he cannot see the person he is shooting at, he cannot pull the trigger.”

Two other officers were charged with falsifying a search warrant declaration. Last August, Kelly Goodlett, a former Louisville police officer, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy charges in connection with Taylor’s murder. Goodlett became the first officer to be criminally charged for the raid.

The killing of Taylor at the hands of police, as well as those of George Floyd in Minnesota, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia and others, sparked mass protests demanding an end to deadly police violence against Black people across the United States.

Deputy Attorney General Kristen Clarke said Friday: “The Department of Justice will continue to vigorously defend the civil rights of every person in this country to be free from unlawful police violence.”