Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison following a civil rights conviction related to the March 2020 raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor.
The sentence was handed down despite the fact that Hankison’s shots did not strike or injure anyone during the operation.
The incident occurred during a late-night drug raid at Taylor’s apartment, where officers attempted to execute a search warrant.
Official reports state Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire on the officers as they entered the apartment, hitting one officer in the leg.
Officers returned fire in response.
Hankison, who was part of the raid team, moved to the side of the apartment and fired multiple shots through a glass door and a covered window.
None of the bullets he fired struck Taylor, Walker, or any of the apartment’s neighbors.
In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Hankison with civil rights violations, alleging that his conduct constituted the use of excessive force and unlawfully endangered human lives.
The charges were filed under 18 U.S.C. § 242, which criminalizes the willful deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law.
The DOJ claimed that Hankison’s decision to fire