Federal prosecutors in Kentucky said they will retry a former Louisville police officer disgraced in the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid after a mistrial in the case last month.
Brett Hankison, 47, faces civil rights violations in the March 13, 2020, shooting death of Taylor inside her Louisville apartment, but avoided a conviction when the jury deadlocked after 20 hours of deliberations on March 26. November.
On Wednesday, prosecutors said they will try again, telling U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings that they will take him back to trial “sooner rather than later,” WDRB-TV News reported.
The highly explosive fatal shooting came amid a rise of the Black Lives Matter movement that questioned excessive police violence against Black residents like Taylor.
Taylor, 26, was shot and killed when Louisville police stormed her home as part of a drug investigation targeting her ex-boyfriend, who no longer lived with her.
Her new boyfriend, claiming that he believed the raid was a robbery without warning, grabbed a gun and fired at the police officers, wounding one of them while three of the officers, including Hankison, returned fire.
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was acquitted of state charges in the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor, but still faces federal civil rights charges. Prosecutors said this week they will try him again after a mistrial last month. via REUTERS Breonna Taylor, 26, was shot and killed by Louisville police officers during a botched raid on her home in 2020. Facebook
Taylor was hit six times and died.
Lonita Baker, an attorney representing Taylor’s family, told reporters after the mistrial in November that they were disappointed by the outcome of that trial but were hopeful that justice would be served.
“This is not the outcome they wanted, but we are here for the long haul,” Baker said at the time. “We live another day to fight for justice for Breonna.”
Hankison, whose 10 shots missed the unarmed woman, was acquitted of state criminal charges following the raid, but still faces federal charges for allegedly using excessive force during the raid.
Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison demonstrates the murder of Breonna Taylor before a federal jury last month. AP The shooting death of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police officers came amid anti-police sentiment during the Black Lives Matter movement. AP
One of the officers, Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty last year, while charges are still pending against two others: Joshua Haynes and Sgt. Kyle Meaney. Both are awaiting trial in federal court.
Hankison’s attorney, Stew Matthews, told jurors during last month’s trial that the former police officer was simply reacting when he returned fire after Taylor’s boyfriend shot at the officers.
“If someone shoots at the police, the police will shoot back,” Matthews told the panel. “And that’s exactly what happened here.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn