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Irish Times
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Former police officer sentenced to 33 months for violating civil rights of Breonna Taylor
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed. US president Donald Trump's justice department had asked the judge to imprison him for just a single day. Ms Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by police in Kentucky in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Ms Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the US over the treatment of people of colour by police departments. US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who handed down the sentence on Monday, criticised prosecutors for making a '180-degree' turn in their approach to the case and said political factors appeared to have influenced its recommendation for a one-day prison sentence. 'This sentence will not and cannot be measured against Ms Taylor's life and the incident as a whole,' Judge Jennings said. Protests erupted in Louisville, Kentucky in 2021 after a grand jury declined to directly charge officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor (26). Photograph: Chang W. Lee/The New York Times The sentence was at the low end of the 33 to 41 months called for under federal sentencing guidelines, but far more severe than the justice department had sought. Ms Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, several other family members and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend at the time, all spoke in court to ask the judge to impose the maximum penalty. 'A piece of me was taken from me that day. You have the power to make today the first day of true accountability,' Ms Palmer told the judge. During president Joe Biden's administration, the justice department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Ms Taylor and Mr Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury last November of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison. Photograph: Timothy D Easley/AP In a brief statement to the court, Hankison apologised to Ms Taylor's family and friends. He said he would have acted differently if he had known about issues with the preparation of the search warrant that led police to Ms Taylor's home that night. 'I never would have fired my gun,' he said. The justice department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Ms Taylor's home, saying he 'did not shoot Ms Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death'. The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors – those who were not political appointees – who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16th by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Mr Trump to lead the justice department's civil rights division, and her counsel Robert Keenan. Mr Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, Trevor Kirk, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Harmeet Dhillon was a political appointee of US president Donald Trump to lead the justice department's civil rights division. Photograph: Rebecca Noble/The New York Times Earlier this year, Ms Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of colour. Attorneys for Ms Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to 'deliver true justice' for her. – Reuters
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-cop jailed for 33 months over Breonna Taylor raid
Former US police officer Brett Hankison has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed. US President Donald Trump's Justice Department had asked the judge to imprison him for a single day. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the US over the treatment of people of colour by police departments. US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings criticised prosecutors for making an "180-degree" turn in their approach to the case and said political factors appeared to have influenced its recommendation for a one-day prison sentence. "This sentence will not and cannot be measured against Ms Taylor's life and the incident as a whole," Jennings said. The sentence was at the low end of the 33 to 41 months called for under federal sentencing guidelines, but far more severe than the Justice Department under Trump had sought. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, several other family members and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend at the time, all spoke in court to ask the judge to impose the maximum penalty. "A piece of me was taken from me that day. You have the power to make today the first day of true accountability," Palmer told the judge. During then-president Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. In a brief statement to the court, Hankison apologised to Taylor's family and friends and said he would have acted differently if he had known about issues with the preparation of the search warrant that led police to Taylor's home that night. "I never would have fired my gun," he said. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he "did not shoot Ms Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death". It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Trump to lead the Justice Department's civil rights division, and her counsel Robert Keenan. Lawyers for Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to "deliver true justice" for her.
CBC
21-07-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Ex-police officer sentenced to 33 months for violating Breonna Taylor's rights
Social Sharing Former Louisville, Ky., police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed. The sentencing came after U.S. President Donald Trump's Justice Department asked the judge to imprison him for a single day. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. over the treatment of people of colour by police departments. During former president Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. No officers charged for Taylor's death Hankison was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. 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. Last week, the Justice Department recommended no prison time for Hankison, an abrupt about-face by federal prosecutors that angered critics after the department spent years prosecuting the former detective. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he "did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death." The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors — those who were not political appointees — who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Trump to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and her counsel, Robert Keenan. Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that Trevor Kirk, a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The efforts to strike the felony conviction led several prosecutors on the case to resign in protest, according to media reports and a person familiar with the matter. Wrongful death settlement The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Earlier this year, Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of colour. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who helped Taylor's family secure a $12 million US wrongful death settlement against the city of Louisville, had called the Justice Department recommendation "an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury's decision." In a social media statement, he said that it "sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity."
Al Jazeera
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
US police officer in Breonna Taylor death sentenced to 33 months in prison
A judge in the US state of Kentucky has sentenced a police officer involved in the 2020 shooting death of Breonna Taylor to 33 months for violating her civil rights. The sentencing of officer Brett Hankison was announced on Monday at the Louisville court and represents a repudiation to prosecutors, who had requested he receive a one-day sentence. Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was killed in her apartment in the early hours of March 13, 2020, after police executed a so-called no-knock warrant, attempting to storm Taylor's apartment unannounced, based on faulty evidence that her apartment was involved in a drug operation. Thinking they were experiencing a home invasion, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired one shot at the suspected intruders. Police responded with approximately 22 shots. A federal jury in November 2024 found Hankison responsible for using excessive force in violation of Taylor's civil rights. But last week, Department of Justice lawyers asked that Hankison be given a one-day sentence, plus three years of supervised release, arguing that a lengthy sentence would be 'unjust'. Hankison shot 10 bullets into the apartment, though the shots he fired did not hit her. Death was a catalyst for calls for racial justice Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, led to racial justice protests across the United States over the treatment of people of colour by police departments. During former President Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he 'did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death'. The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors – those who were not political appointees – who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Trump to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and her counsel, Robert Keenan. Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, Trevor Kirk, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The efforts to strike the felony conviction led several prosecutors on the case to resign in protest, according to media reports and a person familiar with the matter. The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Earlier this year, Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of colour. Lawyers for Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to 'deliver true justice' for her.
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US judge sentences ex-police officer to 33 months for violating civil rights of Breonna Taylor
By Jack Queen, Julio-Cesar Chavez and Sarah N. Lynch LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (Reuters) -Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the raid in which she was shot and killed, after President Donald Trump's Justice Department asked the judge to imprison him for a single day. Taylor, a Black woman, was shot and killed by Louisville, Kentucky, police officers in March 2020 after they used a no-knock warrant at her home. Her boyfriend, believing they were intruders, fired on the officers with a legally owned firearm, prompting them to return fire. Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. over the treatment of people of color by police departments. U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who handed down the sentence on Monday, criticized prosecutors for making a "180-degree" turn in its approach to the case and said political factors appeared to have influenced its recommendation for a one-day prison sentence. 'This sentence will not and cannot be measured against Ms. Taylor's life and the incident as a whole,' Jennings said. The sentence was at the low end of the 33 to 41 months called for under federal sentencing guidelines, but far more severe than the Justice Department under Trump had sought. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, several other family members and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend at the time, all spoke in court to ask the judge to impose the maximum penalty. 'A piece of me was taken from me that day. You have the power to make today the first day of true accountability,' Palmer told the judge. EX-OFFICER APOLOGIZES During President Joe Biden's administration, the Justice Department brought criminal civil rights charges against the officers involved in both Taylor and Floyd's deaths. Hankison was convicted by a federal jury in November 2024 of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights, after the first attempt to prosecute him ended with a mistrial. He was separately acquitted on state charges in 2022. In a brief statement to the court, Hankison apologized to Taylor's family and friends and said he would have acted differently if he had known about issues with the preparation of the search warrant that led police to Taylor's home that night. 'I never would have fired my gun,' he said. The Justice Department's sentencing memo for Hankison downplayed his role in the raid at Taylor's home, saying he "did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death." The memo was notable because it was not signed by any of the career prosecutors - those who were not political appointees - who had tried the case. It was submitted on July 16 by Harmeet Dhillon, a political appointee by Trump to lead the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and her counsel Robert Keenan. Keenan previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, where he argued that a local deputy sheriff convicted of civil rights violations, Trevor Kirk, should have his conviction on the felony counts struck and should not serve prison time. The department's sentencing recommendation in the Hankison case marks the latest effort by the Trump administration to put the brakes on the department's police accountability work. Earlier this year, Dhillon nixed plans to enter into a court-approved settlement with the Louisville Police Department, and rescinded the Civil Rights Division's prior findings of widespread civil rights abuses against people of color. Attorneys for Taylor's family called the department's sentencing recommendation for Hankison an insult, and urged the judge to "deliver true justice" for her. Solve the daily Crossword
