A Setback for Justice in Breonna Taylor’s Murder
Mistrial declared in trial of former Louisville officer Brett Hankison who was involved in deadly Breonna Taylor raid.
(Getty Images)
A mistrial has been declared in the case involving a Louisville police officer accused of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights in a raid that led to her death.
Jurors failed to reach a unanimous verdict on charges against Brett Hankison, who was charged with using excessive force that violated the rights of Taylor, her boyfriend and her next-door neighbors during a flawed drug warrant search in 2020. On the afternoon of Nov. 16, a 12-member jury sent a note to the U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings said they were deadlocked on the charges against Hankinson and couldn’t come to a decision.
It comes after Hankison, who was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department after the incident, was acquitted by a Kentucky jury in 2022 on wanton endangerment charges. Months after his acquittal, the U.S. The Department of Justice brought the new charges against the former officer, which could have put him in prison for life. While the mistrial could lead to a retrial of Hankison, that won’t be determined by federal prosecutors until a later date, according to the Associated Press.
Lonita Baker, an attorney for Taylor’s family, told the AP that after the mistrial, Taylor’s mother was disappointed but not discouraged “because a mistrial is not an acquittal. And so we live another day to fight for justice for Breonna.”
So far, the only criminal conviction of a police officer involved in the Taylor case came from Kelly Goodlett, who pleaded guilty to helping falsify the warrant used to justify the raid.
Noah Johnson (he/him/his) is a Chicago-based journalist. Follow him on X: @noahwritestoo.
Edited by NaTyshca Pickett