A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict in the murder trial surrounding the botched arrest of Breonna Taylor.
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was convicted as a result, after jurors found he used excessive force during the 2020 drug raid that left Taylor dead.
The consensus cleared the way for the first conviction in the high-profile case, with one of the four officers involved freed.
All had been charged with violating Taylor’s civil rights, with former Detective Kelly Goodlett pleading guilty last August to a federal conspiracy charge for forging the warrant that led to the deadly chain of events.
The 26-year-old Black woman’s death sparked nationwide protests, with activists alleging racial injustice played a role in police actions that day.
A federal jury has returned a guilty verdict in the murder trial surrounding the botched arrest of Breonna Taylor, seen here in this undated photo provided by the Taylor family’s attorney.
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was convicted as a result, after jurors found he used excessive force during the 2020 drug raid that killed Taylor
“While it cannot bring Breonna back to her family, it is a critical step in the pursuit of justice and a reminder that no one should be above the law,” Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., wrote in a social media post late Friday night.
The civil rights activist went on to call the verdict “a long-overdue moment of accountability” as Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, hugged a friend on the courthouse steps after the sentencing.
She said in her own statement about the long-running case: “It took a long time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard.
“The jurors took the time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice,” the woman concluded
Minutes earlier, several members of the 12-member jury were seen in tears — as the verdict was read around 9:30 p.m.
They had previously told the judge they were being held on a charge of using excessive force.
The same charge had fooled a separate jury in 2022, which acquitted Hankison, 48, of a reckless endangerment charge months earlier.
While the new jury still had not reached a verdict on Thursday, members had sent correspondence to the judge asking if they needed to know if Taylor was still alive when Hankison fired shots into Taylor’s Kentucky apartment.
Hankison had argued that he fired to protect his fellow officers from Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who shot at him and other officers as they broke down the woman’s door.
While the new jury remained inconclusive Thursday, members had sent correspondence to the judge asking if they needed to know whether Taylor was alive when Hankison fired shots into Taylor’s Kentucky apartment, seen here after the raid.
Jurors told the judge they were deadlocked on charges of using excessive force. The 2020 crime scene can be seen here
The same charge had already caused a stir in 2022 with another jury, which months earlier acquitted the 48-year-old Hankison of reckless endangerment.
Hankison’s attorney, Don Malarcik, told the jury that it was up to prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Taylor was alive” when Hankison fired the shots — prompting a point of contention among jurors.
Hankison had argued that he fired to protect his fellow officers from Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who shot at him and other officers as they broke down the woman’s door.
His attorney, Don Malarcik, told the jury that it was up to prosecutors to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms. Taylor was alive” when Hankison fired the shots — prompting a point of contention among jurors.
After the hearing, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings urged them to continue deliberating, giving them a chance to announce their long-awaited verdict on Friday.
The six-member jury deliberated for hours before returning Friday to make their decision.
Shortly before, Malarcik had spoken at length about the role of Taylor’s friend, who fired a shot that sent former sergeant John Mattingly to the door. Mattingly retired the following year. He was not charged in the case.
Hankison, meanwhile, testified that Walker was running away when he fired, turning the corner of the apartment and shooting at Taylor’s glass door and a window.
Other officers at the door also returned fire at Walker, killing Taylor, who was in a hallway.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings urged jurors to continue deliberating so they could make their long-awaited decision Friday
Hankison’s attorneys used this during closing statements to argue that their client had acted appropriately — “in a very tense, very chaotic environment,” they said, lasting about 12 seconds.
They stressed that Hankison’s shots didn’t hit anyone and that they were bullets fired by other officers that claimed the woman’s life.
The police officer who was convicted also said that Walker never tried to come to the door or turn on the light while police were knocking, but chose to hide in the dark.
“Brett Hankison was just a foot away from being shot by Kenneth Walker,” Malarcik insisted, as prosecutors argued that Hankison acted recklessly when he fired 10 shots into doors and a window where he couldn’t even see a target.
“[Hankison] violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force,” attorneys hired by the federal government said in their own pleadings Wednesday.
“If they can’t see the person they’re shooting at, they can’t pull the trigger,” they insisted, ultimately leading the jury to see that there was no doubt the officer used excessive force.
Meanwhile, none of the officers who shot Taylor — Mattingly and former Detective Myles Cosgrove — were charged in the victim’s death.
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, was seen hugging a friend on the courthouse steps shortly afterward. As for Hankison, his conviction could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. He will be sentenced March 12 by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings.
Joshua Jaynes and Sgt. Kyle Meany Meany led a police unit focused on aggressive drug investigations.
Police simultaneously served five arrest warrants the night of Taylor’s raid, four of them in a concentrated area where drug activity was suspected, and the fifth at Taylor’s apartment nearly 10 miles away.
The search warrant for Taylor’s home alleged that she was receiving packages for a suspected drug dealer who was an ex-boyfriend.
The warrant, signed by Jaynes and approved by Meany, noted that Jaynes had confirmed with the Postal Service that packages for the ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover, would be sent to Taylor’s apartment. Investigators later learned that Jaynes had not confirmed that to the postal inspector.
Jaynes was fired in January 2021 for violating department standards in preparing a search warrant and for being “untruthful” in Taylor’s warrant.
Jayne and Goodlett also allegedly conspired to falsify an investigation document written after Taylor’s death, prosecutors said. The FBI also alleges that Meany, who testified at Hankison’s first trial, lied to the FBI during the investigation.
As for Hankison, his sentence could carry a maximum sentence of life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 12 by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady