Latest news with #LouisvilleMetroPolice
New York Post
22-07-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Breonna Taylor's aunt arrested outside courthouse as cop in deadly raid gets 33 months
Breonna Taylor's aunt was arrested outside a Louisville courthouse Monday, just hours before a fired cop convicted in the botched no-knock raid leading to Taylor's shooting death was sentenced to 33 months in prison. Bianca Austin was one of four people taken into custody as protesters jumped on cars outside the Gene Snyder Federal Building ahead of Monday's sentencing of ex-Louisville cop Brett Hankison, who was found guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights last year, according to USA Today. Louisville police responded to reports of protesters causing problems in the street — and when they arrived, found Austin in the middle of the intersection 'clapping her hands' and blocking vehicles, according to a police report obtained by the outlet. They said Austin approached them while 'clapping and yelling in their face,' the report stated. 5 Taylor, a Black woman, was killed by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant during a botched raid of her home. Courtesy of Family of Breonna Taylor Other protesters were filmed jumping on cars, video from the scene shows. 'What we saw today in front of the courthouse in the street was not safe, acceptable or legal,' Lousivlle Metropolitan Police Department spokesperson Matthew Sanders said in a statement. 'Creating confrontation, kicking vehicles or otherwise creating an unsafe environment will not be tolerated.' Austin was charged with disorderly conduct and obstructing a highway, according to court records. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday. Hankison, who was fired from the Louisville Police Department after Taylor was killed, was found guilty last year of violating Taylor's civil rights after he blindly fired 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment while police executed a no-knock warrant raid — none of which actually struck Taylor. 5 The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to sentence former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, who was convicted of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights, to serve just one day in prison. via REUTERS He was sentenced to 33 months in prison — even though the Justice Department recommended he just get one day in prison. 'It wasn't justice, but I got essentially what I started out for, which was jail time,' Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, told CNN after the sentencing, adding that she found the Trump administration's suggestion insulting. 'Breonna never stood a chance in that courtroom,' Palmer added. 5 Taylor's death, as well as the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked mass racial justice protests around the country. Facebook 5 According to the court filing, the one-day sentence would amount to time served since Hankison would 'get credit for the day he was booked and made his initial appearance.' Louisville PD 5 Crime scene pictures taken by Louisville Metro Police investigators. Louisville Metro Police Hankison was not immediately taken into custody and will remain free until the federal Bureau of Prisons decides where he will serve time. Taylor was killed by police in 2020 after they executed a no-knock warrant while conducting a raid on her boyfriend's home. Her boyfriend, who was carrying a legally owned firearm and thought the couple were being robbed, shot at police, prompting them to fire back 22 times into the apartment.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Brett Hankison to be sentenced for role in Breonna Taylor raid. What to know
Former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison, one of the officers involved in the raid that killed Breonna Taylor, will be sentenced July 21 after recent recommendations from the U.S. Department of Justice that he only serve one day in prison. Hankison, who fired several shots in the raid that killed Breonna Taylor in March 2020, was found guilty by a federal jury in November for violating Taylor's civil rights. He is the only officer who fired into Taylor's apartment to be charged and convicted of any crime, though officials continue to investigate the warrant that authorized the raid five years ago. Here's what we know about the case: DOJ recommends 1-day sentence for Brett Hankison in Breonna Taylor raid case Hankison is facing federal charges for his involvement in the death of Taylor, who was unarmed when the raid took place. In a July 16 sentencing memorandum, DOJ officials recommended Hankison be given a "downward variance," or lower sentence, rather than the range recommended by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, suggesting that former President Joe Biden's administration should not have prosecuted him on civil rights charges. The sentence request is for one day's imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release and a $100 fine. That sentence, if taken up by the judge, would be considered time served as credit for the day he was booked and made his initial appearance before the court. The sentencing memorandum was signed by Robert J. Keenum, senior counsel for the DOJ's civil rights division, and Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general for the department. Keenan was not part of the original prosecution team and Dhillon was appointed by the current Trump administration. What was Brett Hankison charged with? Hankison was initially charged in September 2020 with three counts of wanton endangerment for bullets he fired during the raid that entered a neighboring unit at the apartment complex where Taylor lived. Hankison was outside the apartment at the time of the shooting and fired 10 shots after gunfire erupted inside. Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend at the time, shot at police after they entered but said he did not know officers were on the other side of the door when they used a battering ram to enter the residence. Charges against him were eventually dismissed. Former LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who was hit in the leg by a bullet Walker fired, told police in a March 2020 interview after the shooting that Hankison was "a little bit worked up" leading up to the raid. When he was fired in June 2020, then-interim Chief Robert Schroeder accused Hankison of "blindly" shooting into Taylor's apartment and called his conduct "a shock to the conscience." Hankison was found not guilty in March 2022 and two federal charges of deprivation of civil rights were filed against him the following August as prosecutors charged three other officers who were involved with the warrant used in the raid. A mistrial was declared in Hankison's first trial in November 2023 and about a year later, a second trial returned a guilty verdict on one of the two counts, with a maximum sentence of life in prison. In their memo, Dhillon and Keenan note the conviction came after two other unsuccessful prosecution attempts and argue criticism of LMPD following Taylor's killing and "significant media attention" would expose Hankison to a "heightened risk of assault while in custody." The memo also says that Hankison's "personal history and characteristics" back up the assertion that "there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from the defendant or provide 'just' punishment or deterrence," as he has no other adult or juvenile convictions and "performed well on pretrial release for over four years." More: New DOJ memo requests 1-day sentence for Brett Hankison, officer in Breonna Taylor raid Hankison was not involved in the authorization of the warrant, which led to federal charges against the three other officers, Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Goodlett and Kyle Meany. Former LMPD Detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty in August 2022 to helping falsify an affidavit for the search of Taylor's apartment. The cases against Meany — charged with two counts of deprivation of civil rights and two counts of lying to federal investigators — and Jaynes — charged with two counts of deprivation of civil rights, two counts of falsification of records and two counts of conspiracy — are still open. Reach Marina Johnson at This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Brett Hankison to be sentenced in Louisville
CBS News
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Brett Hankison, former officer convicted in Breonna Taylor case, to be sentenced today in federal court
A sentencing hearing is scheduled to take place Monday for Brett Hankison, a former Kentucky police officer who was convicted in the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician. Taylor was shot and killed on March 13, 2020, during a botched drug raid authorized by the Louisville Metro Police Department. A Louisville detective at the time, Hankison, 46, was found guilty last November of violating Taylor's civil rights while executing a search warrant on her home, which resulted in the tragedy. A federal jury in Louisville convicted Hankison on one count of civil rights abuse. He was accused of depriving Taylor of her constitutional rights when he, separate from other officers with him at the scene, used excessive force to fire multiple shots through a sliding glass door and window on the side of her building, despite both being covered by blinds and curtains. The jury found that Hankison used a dangerous weapon when he committed the offense and that his actions involved an attempt to kill, although the shots he fired did not strike Taylor, the U.S. Department of Justice said after his conviction. He initially faced a second count for allegedly depriving Taylor's neighbors of their constitutional rights, as his bullets pierced through the walls and narrowly missed a family of three in the adjacent apartment, but jurors found him not guilty on that charge. Hankison had pleaded not guilty to each of the charges. After his conviction, the Justice Department requested in a sentencing memo that he serve just one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, something civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who represents Taylor's family, called "an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury's decision." "This sets a dangerous precedent," Crump said in a statement responding to the memo. "When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone's constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity." Taylor's death sparked a national outcry and contributed significantly to a period of public reckoning that followed over what critics said was systemic racial injustice and police brutality in the U.S. After she was killed, police found no evidence of narcotics inside of her home. Evidence presented during Hankison's trial showed that he and two colleagues, former Louisville officers Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove, arrived at Taylor's home at 12:45 a.m. on the night of the fatal shooting, while she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were asleep. Believing intruders were breaking into the residence, Walker fired one shot from his own gun toward the officers he had mistaken for civilian trespassers. The shot wounded Mattingly and prompted all three officers to open fire into the apartment. Two other Louisville officers, former detective Joshua Jaynes and former Sgt. Kyle Meany, also face charges over Taylor's death. Jaynes and Meany are charged with federal civil rights offenses and obstruction of justice for their involvement in the preparing and authorizing an affidavit for the search warrant that ultimately led to the shooting. Another former Louisville officer, Kelly Goodlett, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for helping Jaynes and Meany obtain the warrant. Trials for Jaynes and Meany have yet to take place.
Daily Mail
13-07-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Active shooter on the loose at Kentucky Expo Center and fairground as families run for their lives
An active shooter is on the loose at a fairground in Louisville, Kentucky. Police swarmed the active scene at Kentucky Exposition Center, where summer fairgrounds for families are currently staged, on Sunday afternoon. The horror scene comes just hours after a separate shooter opened fire at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, before fleeing to a church about 16 miles away. The fairground shooting occurred about an hour away from this morning's gunfire. Louisville Metro Police Department said in a statement: 'We are aware of a report of an "Active Aggressor" on the property of the Fairgrounds in Louisville. At this time there are NO victims found yet. Please avoid the area due to a heavy police presence.' This is a breaking news story.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Yahoo
Louisville man convicted of chaining woman to floor learns sentence
A Louisville man accused of chaining a woman to the floor of a Park Hill neighborhood home in 2023 was sentenced to 30 years in prison by a Jefferson District Court judge July 2. Moises May, 38, received the sentence after he was found guilty by a jury April 1 on felony charges of human trafficking, kidnapping and intimidation, and misdemeanor charges of harassment, assault and terroristic threats. 'Our community has no tolerance for cruelty and depravity," Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers said in a statement. "Every new law that gives us more tools to combat heinous crimes makes a difference The victim in this case experienced circumstances no one should ever have to go through." According to court records, Louisville Metro Police officers were dispatched in August 2023 to a two-story house in the 1700 block of Bolling Avenue in Park Hill after a call came in from neighbors reporting a woman screaming for help. Upon arrival, officers discovered the first floor of the house was barricaded and that all the doors were screwed shut. Ladders were reportedly required to gain access to the second floor of the home, where the woman was found chained to the floor by a metal dog collar, according to court records. The Courier Journal does not name victims of crimes unless they choose to be identified. According to an arrest citation, May and the woman were arguing when May allegedly grabbed her and held her down on a bathroom floor "while he used a machete to cut off a most of her hair." May then "slapped the victim around" before she was able to leave, court records show. More: Video shows LMPD rescuing woman who was chained to a floor in Louisville When the woman returned, May allegedly wrapped a metal dog chain around her neck and bolted her to the floor, while threatening multiple times to kill her. He then took her phone so she could not call for help. The woman was later able to break open a window and scream for help, prompting bystanders to call the police, the citation said. LMPD, along with Louisville Fire and Rescue, responded to the call and were able to rescue the victim and treat her for minor injuries. Reporter Marina Johnson, producer Ray Padilla and former reporter Rae Johnson contributed to this story. In other news: Federal lawsuit claims KSP trooper wrongfully arrested woman for recording traffic stop Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@ or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville man sentenced to prison for chaining woman to floor
