Sentencing hearing set for ex-Kentucky officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
Brett Hankison fired his weapon the night of the March 2020 botched drug raid. His shots didn't hit or injure anyone, though they flew through Taylor's walls into a neighboring apartment.
The 26-year-old's death, along with the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked racial injustice protests nationwide that year.
Though the sentence could amount to several years, if U.S. District Judge Grady Jennings heeds the Justice Department's request, it would mean none of the Louisville police officers involved in the raid would face prison time.
Last week, the U.S. Justice Department recommended no prison time for Hankison, an abrupt about-face by federal prosecutors that has angered critics after the department spent years prosecuting the former detective.
The Justice Department, which has changed leadership under President Donald Trump since Hankison's conviction, said in a sentencing memo last week that "there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public' from Hankison. Federal prosecutors suggested time already served, which amounts to one day, and three years of supervised probation.
Prosecutors at his previous federal trials aggressively pursued a conviction against Hankison, 49, arguing that he blindly fired 10 shots into Taylor's windows without identifying a target. Taylor was shot in her hallway by two other officers after her boyfriend fired from inside the apartment, striking an officer in the leg. Neither of the other officers was charged in state or federal court after prosecutors deemed they were justified in returning fire into the apartment. Louisville police used a drug warrant to enter the apartment, but found no drugs or cash inside.
A separate jury deadlocked on federal charges against Hankison in 2023, and he was acquitted on state charges of wanton endangerment in 2022.
In their recent sentencing memo, federal prosecutors wrote that though 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.'
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who helped Taylor's family secure a $12 million wrongful death settlement against the city of Louisville, has called the Justice Department recommendation 'an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury's decision' and said in a social media statement that it "sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.'
A U.S. Probation Office presentencing report said Hankison should face a range of 135 to 168 months imprisonment on the excessive force conviction, according to the memo. But federal prosecutors said multiple factors — including that Hankison's two other trials ended with no convictions — should greatly reduce the potential punishment.
The memorandum was submitted by Harmeet Dhillon, chief of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and a Trump political appointee who in May moved to cancel settlements with Louisville and Minneapolis that had called for overhauling their police departments.
In the Taylor case, three other ex-Louisville police officers have been charged with crafting a falsified warrant, but have not gone to trial. None were at the scene when Taylor was shot.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
15 minutes ago
- The Independent
Regina Spektor confronts pro-Palestine protesters who interrupted concert
Singer-songwriter Regina Spektor 's concert in Portland, Maine, was interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters on Saturday. Spektor, who is Jewish and emigrated from the Soviet Union to the US as a child, confronted the protesters, stating her show was 'not the place for that conversation' and that they were 'just yelling at a Jew'. She encouraged those disrupting the performance to leave, with some audience members subsequently departing the venue. Spektor referenced her family's history of escaping persecution, noting she only speaks English because they fled a country where Jews were 'othered'. Spektor, 45, has voiced her support of Israel in the past, including two days after Hamas's 7 October 2023 attack at Nova Music Festival.
The Guardian
16 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Child molestation survivor revisits case of his father killing his accused abuser on live TV
A child abuse survivor whose father shot his accused abuser to death in plain view of television news cameras in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the 1980s says he suggests parents whose children are molested 'not to take the law into your own hands and put yourself in a position to be prosecuted'. Instead, 'I would advise [them] … to be there for their child,' Joseph Boyce 'Jody' Plauché remarked in a new interview that was recently published by People. Plauché's comments revisited the slaying of his karate coach Jeff Doucet at the hands of his father, Gary Plauché, which was once one of the US's most sensational criminal cases. Jody was 10 when Doucet became his karate coach and began molesting the boy, as Plauché recounted in a 2019 memoir. In February 1984, Doucet drove an 11-year-old Jody to a relative's home in Port Arthur, Texas, and then they took a bus to the Los Angeles area to visit Disneyland. Doucet and Jody were there for about a week, and authorities found them in a motel room after the man let the boy make a collect call to his mother. The boy was quickly brought home, and tests confirmed he had been sexually assaulted. Two deputies from the sheriff's office in Baton Rouge flew to California to bring Doucet back on charges of kidnapping and child sexual abuse, and Gary Plauché learned from someone at the Louisiana news station WBRZ when the karate coach was arriving at the local airport. Gary Plauché went to the airport in sunglasses and a baseball cap and lay in wait. As officers walked past him with a handcuffed Doucet, Gary Plauché aimed a handgun at the 25-year-old's right ear, fired point-blank and killed him as news cameras filmed. Video recorded one of the deputies who helped arrest Jody's father – and recognized him – as he shouted: 'Gary, why? Why, Gary? Why?' Gary Plauché – who instantly became a vigilante hero to many Americans at the time – eventually pleaded no contest to a manslaughter charge, spent five years on probation and avoided serving any time in prison. He died in 2014 at age 69. Jody, who would go on to title his memoir Why Gary Why?, later told the Associated Press how people constantly approached him to exalt his father long after the case fell out of the news headlines. Well into his adulthood, he would post cooking videos online – and rather than weigh in on his dishes, viewers would write comments commending his father. 'They won't comment: 'That gumbo looks great,'' Jody said to the AP. 'They'll just be like: 'Your dad's a hero.'' But in his recent conversation with People, the 53-year-old Jody Plauché said his father 'got lucky' that he didn't face a harsher sentence which would have taken him away from his son at a crucial time in his recovery from his sexual abuse. He said he even gave his father the silent treatment for a couple of months after Doucet's killing. 'I didn't want Jeff dead – I didn't want daddy to hurt Jeff,' Jody Plauché said to People of his state of mind at the time. 'I just wanted Jeff to stop doing what he was doing, which he never would've, but that was just the hope back then, the prayers I would say at night.' Jody Plauché said he forgave his father after seeing Gary and his mother 'getting along really [well]' in the aftermath of the deadly shooting. He had done that upon accepting that authorities would not come take Gary away at a time when his boy needed him, as Jody told People. During one of the rare conversations they had about Doucet's slaying, Jody recalled, 'I told him … 'I'm not mad at you no more. I understand why you did it.'' Jody said he remembered Gary responding with something to the effect of: 'I love you.' As Jody tells it, he later earned a general studies degree at Louisiana State University with minors in speech, communication and psychology. He worked in Pennsylvania as a sexual assault counselor for seven years, returned to Baton Rouge in 2005 after his father suffered a stroke, and took a job at his brother's transportation company. Jody Plauché has said that the purpose of Why, Gary, Why? is to give hope and knowledge to survivors and their parents, respectively. 'I wanted outsiders to get a general understanding about sexual violence and sexual abuse,' said Jody Plauché, now a vocal advocate for child molestation survivors. In the US, call or text the Childhelp abuse hotline on 800-422-4453 or visit their website for more resources and to report child abuse or DM for help. For adult survivors of child abuse, help is available at In the UK, the NSPCC offers support to children on 0800 1111, and adults concerned about a child on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adult survivors on 0808 801 0331. In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800, or Bravehearts on 1800 272 831, and adult survivors can contact Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helplines International
Reuters
16 minutes ago
- Reuters
Medicaid access and Trump tax cuts dominate early 2026 US midterm ads
NEW YORK, July 29 (Reuters) - Residents of Columbus, Indiana awoke last week to a yellow billboard purchased by the Democratic National Committee blaring: 'Under Trump's Watch, Columbus Regional Health is Cutting Medical Services." Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee, which oversees races for the U.S. House of Representatives, this month launched a digital ad campaign touting President Donald Trump's tax cuts and blaming Democrats for spiking inflation. As members of Congress return to their home districts for the August recess, the Democratic and Republican parties are launching ad blitzes centered around the tax-cut and spending bill Trump signed into law on July 4, in an unofficial start to the 2026 midterm election campaign. Democrats are focusing their message around access to healthcare, three party operatives and three officials from allied groups told Reuters. Republicans are countering that the tax provisions will put more money in voters' pockets – particularly wage workers and seniors, four party operatives said. The bill makes permanent Trump's 2017 tax cuts and funds his immigration enforcement crackdown, while reducing health care and food aid. It devotes $170 billion to immigration enforcement while cutting $1.1 trillion from Medicaid and other public health programs and $186 billion in food assistance. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that 10 million people would lose their health insurance by 2034 as a result of the bill, and that the tax provisions and increased immigration and military spending would increase the federal deficit by $3.4 trillion over the next decade. "How voters feel about Trump and the economy may be the most important factor next fall - but so is how voters feel about the Republican response to their concern," said Jacob Rubashkin, a nonpartisan analyst with Inside Elections. Republican strategists concede that Democrats, who campaigned against the bill while it was working its way through the Republican-controlled House and Senate, are starting with an upper hand in messaging around the legislation. But they say they have plenty of time to sell the bill's benefits. "We will use every tool to show voters that the provisions in this bill are widely popular,' said Mike Marinella, a spokesman for the NRCC. And the party has a cash advantage. The RNC had $81 million in cash at the end of June, according to Federal Election Commission data, compared to the DNC's $15 million during the same period. The DNC has trailed the RNC in fundraising in the first half of the year at the same time as it has deepened its financial commitments, spending in every state, FEC disclosures show. The RNC also enjoys a huge asset in a sitting president who is still holding fundraisers for big-ticket donors. 'At the end of the day, Democrats got a jump start on messaging,' said a Republican Senate operative who asked to remain anonymous to discuss party strategy. 'They have won the battle. Now we have to focus on winning the war.' Republicans can only afford a net loss of two of the 220 seats they hold in the House to maintain control. In the Senate, they have a 53-47 advantage. The messaging battle, largely focused on battleground states and districts, is key to defining the bill in the minds of voters. 'The bill is currently unpopular, and there's been a lot of conversation among Republicans about how to refocus on the more popular aspects and use the upcoming recess to sell the bill to skeptical voters,' Rubashkin said. According to a Reuters/Ipsos poll, conducted last month as the bill was moving through Congress, some 64% of registered voters oppose cuts to Medicaid and food stamps in return for lower taxes for everyone. Democrats are seizing on that sentiment, pushing the idea that Republicans have taken away healthcare to pay for tax giveaways for billionaires. The DNC has purchased billboards in a handful of Republican districts facing reduced services and shutdown of rural hospitals and health facilities. 'Republicans threw working families under the bus to fund tax cuts for the wealthy, and we'll never let them — or voters — forget that,' said DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman in a statement to Reuters. 'This will define the midterms.' Republicans say the bill's provisions on tips, overtime and Social Security show the party is focused on issues affecting working families. They also point to a $50 billion fund the bill establishes to help rural hospitals. In a memo earlier this month, the National Republican Senatorial Committee encouraged candidates to talk about the bill in personalized terms, highlighting 'service industry workers who will keep more of their hard-earned tips,' 'first responders and critical workers who will keep more of their overtime pay' and 'working parents and caretakers who benefit from increased tax credits for child and dependent care.' Another Republican strategy memo prepared by Tony Fabrizio and David Lee, Trump's pollsters, urges candidates to "lead on kitchen-table issues." The memo was commissioned by One Nation, a super PAC that last week launched a $10-million-plus TV and digital ad blitz playing up the tax features of the bill. The ads will air in states like Georgia and Texas where Republicans are defending seats. Another Republican PAC, Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group founded by Charles Koch and the late David Koch, will launch a TV and digital ad campaign in key districts next month, said Bill Riggs, a spokesperson for AFP. And the American Action Network is running TV and digital ads in 29 battleground congressional districts in Arizona, California, New York and Pennsylvania, emphasizing tax cuts and border security. "It's a new America, full of hope, thanks to President Trump and House Republicans," the ad intones. Democrats, meanwhile, are trying to tie Medicaid cuts to reduced healthcare access and higher costs. The DNC's website claims that the bill will "cost the poorest 10% of households $1,600 a year while raising the income of the richest 10% of Americans by $12,000 a year." Unrig Our Economy, a left-leaning outside group focused on populist economic messaging, is running ads in Iowa, Arizona and Pennsylvania depicting voters voicing frustration at their Republican lawmakers for voting for Trump's bill. 'I'm so angry that Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks just voted for the largest cut to Medicaid in history to give tax breaks to billionaires,' said one ad running in Iowa, featuring a Davenport resident identified as Maria. The group plans to spend $7 million by the end of the year, according to spokesperson Kobie Christian. On Monday the group launched a 'multi-million dollar' ad campaign focused on the Medicaid cuts in four Texas congressional districts. Protect Our Care, a left-leaning healthcare advocacy organization, said it plans to spend up to $10 million on ads in the first half of next year, largely focused on urging Republican lawmakers to restore funding to Medicaid. 'Republicans won't be able to spin their way out of their parents being kicked out of a nursing home,' said Brad Woodhouse, the group's executive director. Environmental groups are also targeting the bill's rollback of clean energy incentives. Climate Power and the League of Conservation Voters spent $500,000 on an ad pressuring lawmakers in six congressional districts to vote against the bill, claiming that it will increase electricity rates, according to League of Conservation Voters President Pete Maysmith. 'The bill just happened, so let's start communicating with people when it's fresh and happening,' said Maysmith. 'We don't want to show up later and try to pick up that conversation.'
