Former police officer convicted of violating Breonna Taylor's rights during fatal raid

Former Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison was found guilty on Friday night of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights during a raid on her apartment that ultimately resulted in her death in 2020.

The ruling is the first guilty verdict that a jury has passed for Hankison over Taylor's death. A different jury was deadlocked over the case last year, which resulted in a mistrial, and he was found not guilty of wanton endangerment in 2022, per the Associated Press.

The new jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over the course of three days, and told the judge twice that they were also deadlocked. However, they were urged to continue deliberating and finally reached their verdict. 

Hankison was charged with violating Taylor's civil rights through the use of excessive force and the rights of her neighbor, though he was found not guilty of violating the rights of the neighbor on Friday. Prosecutors had claimed Hankison blindly shot at Taylor's home during the raid, however he was not charged with killing her because none of his shots hit anyone.

The former Kentucky cop testified that he had to act quickly and use his judgment because he thought that his fellow officers were being killed. But prosecutors said he “violated one of the most fundamental rules of deadly force: If they cannot see the person they’re shooting at, they cannot pull the trigger.”

The raid on Taylor's home was actually intended for her boyfriend, who lived at another address at the time. The boyfriend was at her place during the raid, but he fired at the cops because he said he believed someone was breaking in.

No sentencing date has been set so far for Hankison, but he faces up to life in prison for the conviction.

Taylor's death helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement, which resulted in riots against police officers in the summer of 2020.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.