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Ex-officer sentenced to nearly three years for role in Breonna Taylor's killing

Ex-officer sentenced to nearly three years for role in Breonna Taylor's killing

The Guardian2 days ago
A federal judge on Monday sentenced an ex-Kentucky police officer to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during the 2020 deadly raid on Breonna Taylor's home, declining a justice department recommendation that he be given no prison time.
Brett Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the raid but didn't hit anyone, was the only officer on the scene charged in the Black woman's death. He is the first person sentenced to prison in the case that rocked the city of Louisville and spawned weeks of street protests over police brutality five years ago.
Last week, the justice department recommended a one-day jail sentence and supervised release in Hankison's case. In a sentencing memorandum, assistant attorney general for civil rights Harmeet K Dhillon and senior counsel Robert J Keenan said Hankison had suffered psychological stress from the legal battle.
The US district judge Rebecca Grady Jennings sentenced Hankison at a hearing Monday afternoon. She said that no prison time 'is not appropriate' for Hankison and said she was 'startled' that there weren't more people injured in the raid.
Hankison will serve 33 months in prison as well as three years of supervised probation.
Although Hankison did not hit anyone, he shot into Taylor's bedroom window, through blinds and a blackout curtain, and a neighboring apartment, where a couple with a five-year-old child lived.
He was found guilty in November 2024 of one count of civil rights abuse and faced a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In May, Donald Trump's justice department canceled work on an agreement to enter into a consent decree with the city of Louisville. The agreement would have given the justice department authority to supervise Louisville's efforts to overhaul its police training and use-of-force policies.
In September 2020, six months after her death, Taylor's family received a $12m wrongful death settlement from the city of Louisville. Her family's civil rights attorney, Ben Crump, told the Associated Press on Monday that he hoped Hankison would get more time but 'we are grateful that he is at least going to prison and has to think for those three years about Breonna Taylor and that her life mattered'.
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Bryan Kohberger files reveal terrifying new evidence including signs of a practice run a MONTH before murders
Bryan Kohberger files reveal terrifying new evidence including signs of a practice run a MONTH before murders

Daily Mail​

time12 minutes ago

  • Daily Mail​

Bryan Kohberger files reveal terrifying new evidence including signs of a practice run a MONTH before murders

Bryan Kohberger 's victims saw a man lurking in the trees outside their home and found their front door mysteriously open one month before the killer struck, according to newly-released police records. Moscow Police Department released a trove of 314 previously-sealed records related to the investigation into the November 13, 2022, murders of Madison Mogen, Kaylee Goncalves, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin on Wednesday afternoon - just hours after the mass killer was sentenced to a lifetime behind bars. Within the huge document dump, new details emerged about the police investigation which ultimately led to the capture and conviction of 30-year-old criminology student. In a bombshell revelation, the records show that the roommates at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, had experienced disturbing incidents at the home just one month before the murders. Goncalves had told at least two friends that she had seen a man watching her in the trees around the home. 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Mortensen ultimately ran down to Funke's room where the two survivors stayed until daylight. Just before midday - still unable to contact the four victims - they called friends round to the home and the bloodbath was discovered. The newly-unsealed documents reveal harrowing new details about the injuries Kohberger inflicted on his victims. One officer on the scene described seeing Kernodle's body on her bedroom covered in blood, with defensive wounds to her hands, including a deep gash between her finger and thumb. 'It was obvious an intense struggle had occurred,' the officer wrote. 'There was blood smeared on various items in the room and all over the floor.' She had suffered more than 50 stab wounds. Chapin was partially covered with a blanket in her bed, with his jugular severed, the police files said. On the floor above, officers found the bodies of Mogen and Goncalves. As well as more than 20 stab wounds, Goncalves' face was so badly damaged she was 'unrecognizable.' 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