Federal Jury Convicts Former Officer of Violating Breonna Taylor’s Civil Rights

A federal jury has found former police detective Brett Hankison guilty of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor by using excessive force during a 2020 raid in Louisville, Kentucky.

The jury’s decision was announced on Friday, according to The Associated Press.

During the raid, Hankison fired ten shots into Taylor’s apartment, although none of the bullets struck her. The jury, however, acquitted him of violating the rights of Taylor’s neighbors who were also impacted by the incident.

Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman and emergency room technician, was killed during the raid, an event that sparked widespread protests and discussions about police violence across the nation. Hankison is the only officer charged in relation to the raid, while two other officers, also white, were involved in the gunfire that resulted in Taylor’s death.

This conviction is not Hankison’s first encounter with the legal system regarding the case. Last year, a mistrial was declared when a jury could not reach a unanimous decision on federal civil rights charges against him.

With input from the New York Times.