Judge sentences former officer involved in Breonna Taylor raid to nearly three years in prison

A federal judge on Monday sentenced former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during a raid on Breonna Taylor's apartment, which ultimately resulted in her death.

Hankison, who prosecutors claimed blindly fired 10 shots into Taylor's home during the raid but did not hit anyone, was the only officer charged in the raid. He was convicted of violating her civil rights last year.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings sentenced Hankison to 33 months in prison, despite a request from the Justice Department that there be no prison time. Jennings said a lack of prison time "is not appropriate” for Hankison and that she was "startled" people were not injured in the shooting.

The judge also sentenced Hankison to three years of supervised probation, and ordered the Bureau of Prisons to determine where and when the former cop will start his sentence, the Associated Press reported.

The sentencing comes after the Kentuckian testified that he felt he had to act quickly and use his judgment because he thought that his fellow officers were being killed. The raid on Taylor's home was actually intended for her boyfriend, who lived at another address at the time. The boyfriend was at her place during the raid, but he fired at the police because he said he believed someone was breaking in.

Federal prosecutors argued that Hankison violated a fundamental rule in the use of excessive force, which is not to fire if the cop cannot see the target. They also claimed recently that Hankison's “response in these fraught circumstances was unreasonable given the benefit of hindsight, that unreasonable response did not kill or wound Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, her neighbors, defendant’s fellow officers, or anyone else.” 

Taylor's death helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement, which resulted in riots against police officers in the summer of 2020.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.