Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson was sentenced to 33 months in prison on Monday for violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor through excessive use of force.
Taylor was fatally shot in her home in 2020 after plainclothes officers forced their way into her apartment. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a shot to ward off what he believed to be intruders. The police returned fire, hitting Taylor six times.
During the raid, Hankinson fired through Taylor’s window 10 times. Though none of his shots hit Taylor, a jury convicted him of depriving Taylor of her civil rights through his actions. He is the only participant in the raid on Taylor’s home to be found guilty of a crime.
The 33-month sentence handed down by US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings pushed back against the sentencing recommendation of the Department of Justice, which requested a sentence of just a single day. The department argued in a sentencing that Hankison’s loss of career was punishment enough.
“The government respects the jury’s verdict, which will almost certainly ensure that defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again and will also likely ensure that he never legally possesses a firearm again,” the memo said.
In her sentencing decision, Jennings said such a sentence “is not appropriate” and would undermine the jury’s verdict.
Start your day with essential news from Salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
A release from Breonna Taylor’s legal team shared by the Associated Press called Jennings’ sentencing decision “a statement.”
“While today’s sentence is not what we had hoped for –– nor does it fully reflect the severity of the harm caused –– it is more than what the Department of Justice sought,” they said. “That, in itself, is a statement.”
Read more
about this topic