Justice Department Says Former Officer Convicted Over Breonna Taylor’s Death During Raid Should Serve Just One Day in Jail
The Justice Department is seeking just one day in jail for the former police officer convicted of shooting Breonna Taylor during a raid in 2020.
Former Louisville Metro Police Department Detective Brett Hankison is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday afternoon after being convicted of deprivation of rights under color of law in November.
Taylor was killed during a knock-and-announce drug raid on March 13, 2020, during which her boyfriend shot at police and they returned fire. LMPD Sgt. Jon Mattingly was shot during the exchange and has now recovered.
During the raid, Hankison fired ten shots through a window, though they are not the ones that struck Taylor. The officers who shot Taylor were not charged because they were returning fire as her boyfriend shot at them.
The Justice Department has argued that Hankison does not need to serve time as he is not a danger to the public.
Taylor’s family has urged the judge to ignore the recommendation and impose a harsher sentence. Lawyers representing the family called it an “insult” that sets a “dangerous precedent.”
“The family asked for one thing: that Brett Hankison be sentenced in accordance with the law and federal guidelines. Instead, Tamika Palmer is left, once again, heartbroken and angry,” attorneys for Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, including Ben Crump, Lonita Baker, and Sam Aguiar, said in a statement, according to a report from NBC News.
“It is unfathomable that, after finally securing a conviction, the Department of Justice would seek a sentence so drastically below the federal guidelines,” the statement continued.
The lawyers added that the recommendation “sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.”
Taylor’s death led to riots in the streets during the height of the Black Lives Matter mayhem nationwide.
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