A federal judge has sentenced a former Kentucky police officer to nearly three years imprisonment for excessive force during the 2020 raid that resulted in the death of African American Breonna Taylor in her home. The sentence rejected a Justice Department recommendation of only one day’s detention—time already served since his arrest earlier in the proceedings.
Brett Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the botched entry without striking anyone, was the sole officer present at the fatal incident to face charges related to Taylor’s death. This marks the first prison sentence handed down in the case, which rocked Louisville and ignited weeks of nationwide protests against police brutality.
During the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings stated she was “surprised” no one else was injured in the raid. She imposed a 33-month prison term followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Jennings expressed disappointment at federal prosecutors’ “inconsistent and inappropriate” sentencing request, asserting the Justice Department treated Hankison’s actions as “an irrelevant crime.” Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who secured a $12 million wrongful death settlement for Taylor’s family from Louisville, had previously condemned the DOJ’s recommendation as “an insult to Breonna Taylor’s life and an outright betrayal of the jury’s verdict.”