A former police officer in the US state of Kentucky has been convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a black woman killed in her home during a botched raid four years ago.
Brett Hankison, 47, faces up to life in prison after being convicted of using excessive force against a 26-year-old emergency room technician.
But the jury also found him not guilty on another charge of violating the civil rights of one of Taylor’s neighbors. This is Hankison’s third time in court in this case.
The verdict marks the first time any officer has been convicted in the deadly March 13, 2020 raid that made Taylor’s name an echo during that year’s racial justice unrest. .
Taylor’s family members in court burst into tears after Friday’s verdict, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.
Prosecutors wanted to take Hankison into custody immediately, but their request was denied by the judge, the local newspaper reported.
The jury of five white men, one black man and six white women began deliberations Wednesday.
The indictment alleges that Hankison deprived Taylor of her right to liberty from unreasonable arrests and deprived her neighbors of her right to liberty without due process of law.
He said he fired 10 shots into her apartment to protect fellow officers when Taylor’s boyfriend opened fire as police broke down the door.
According to the Courier Journal, Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said after the verdict that she began to feel “defeated” as the jury continued to deliberate, but that she was “glad” the trial was over.
“It’s been 1,694 days. It’s been so long, it’s been so hard — I don’t know if I have any other words (other than) ‘thank God,'” she said.
Hankison took the stand for two days of testimony in the retrial, telling jurors he was “trying to survive, trying to keep my partners alive.”
He is the first of four officers charged in the case to face a jury.
Another former officer, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to falsifying a search warrant for Taylor’s home.
The remaining two officers had their federal charges dismissed by a judge earlier this year. The U.S. Department of Justice recently indicted two people on new charges.
Taylor was killed after plainclothes police executed a “no-knock” search warrant at her home. They broke into her apartment early in the morning while she and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping.
Authorities believe Taylor’s ex-boyfriend is using her home to hide drugs.
Mr. Walker fired a single shot as they knocked on the door, hitting one officer, Sergeant John Mattingly, in the leg. Mr Walker said the officers did not identify themselves as police and he thought they were intruders.
The three officers returned fire, firing 32 rounds into the apartment.
Another officer fired the shot that killed Taylor, but prosecutors said his use of deadly force was justified because Walker fired first.
None of Hankison’s bullets hit anyone, but they did fly into a neighboring house where a pregnant woman, a 5-year-old child and a man were sleeping.
A subsequent police report contained errors, including listing Taylor’s injuries as “none” and saying no force was used for entry while using a battering ram.
Hankison was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in June 2020.
His previous federal case last year ended in a mistrial when the jury told the judge they could not reach a unanimous verdict.
He was previously tried by a Kentucky jury in March 2022 and acquitted of three counts of wanton endangerment.
The Taylor and Walker families both received compensation from the city for the incident.
A series of police reforms were also implemented in Louisville.
Hankison will be sentenced on March 12 next year.
