Ex-police officer guilty of civil rights abuse in Breonna Taylor death
A former Kentucky police officer has been convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor.
Taylor was a Black woman whose death in a police raid prompted racial justice protests across the United States in 2020.
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was convicted on one count of civil rights abuse Friday.
A 12-member federal jury determined Hankison used excessive force on Taylor during the raid.
Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid but did not hit anyone.
Taylor, an emergency medical technician, was asleep with her boyfriend on March 13, 2020, when police conducted the raid on a no-knock warrant.
Her boyfriend fired once at what he said he believed were intruders.
Three police officers responded with 32 shots, six of which struck Taylor, killing her.
Hankison was among four officers charged by the Department of Justice in 2022 with violating Taylor’s civil rights.
He is the first to be convicted and faces life in prison.
Hankison is set to be sentenced next March.
Two other officers remain charged with falsifying a search warrant affidavit.