A jury will hear federal prosecutors' case for the second time against a former Louisville Metro Police detective accused of depriving Breonna Taylor and others of their civil rights in the police raid that ended in Taylor's death starting Tuesday.
Brett Hankison's actions the night of Taylor's death were the subject of a trial that lasted about three weeks and ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to agree on whether to convict Hankison in November 2023. He's set to be tried again in the U.S. District Court Western District of Kentucky, which is expected to last two to three weeks, according to court records.
Here's what to know about the retrial.
What is Brett Hankison accused of in federal court?
Hankison is charged with violating the civil rights of Taylor, her boyfriend and three neighbors during the execution of a search warrant at Taylor's South End apartment that led to her death on March 13, 2020.
LMPD officers were conducting the search as part of a wider narcotics investigation. When officers entered the apartment, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a single shot from a handgun, hitting former Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the leg. Walker later said he believed the officers were intruders.
Prosecutors say Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor's apartment through a glass door and window that were both covered by blinds.Three of the rounds Hankison shot traveledinto an adjacent apartment with a man, pregnant woman and 5-year-old inside.None of the rounds fired by Hankison hit Taylor.
Prosecutors argue Hankison willfully subjected Taylor, Walker and the neighbors to an excessive amount of force, according to court records. Hankison's defense team says his actions were justified because he believed the lives of himself and his colleagues were in danger.
Aryele Bradford, spokesperson from the Department of Justice, declined to comment on the upcoming trial. Hankison's defense team could not be reached for comment.
Will any new evidence be presented in Hankison's second federal trial?
In August, prosecutors filed records indicating their intention to introduce new testimony of Hankison's past "aggressive" and "reckless" conduct while executing warrants. Prosecutors said the testimony helps prove Hankison's actions during the raid of Taylor's apartment were willful, rather than an honest mistake, as his defense has argued.
In court records, prosecutors outline two occasions during which they say he "endangered his fellow officers and civilians" and breached LMPD protocols. Hankison should have known his actions during the Taylor raid were unacceptable since he had been admonished for similar actions in the past, prosecutors argued.
The first incident occurred in October 2016. LMPD detectives were working with the SWAT unit to observe a drug deal and then execute search and arrest warrants in a narcotics investigation. The procedure called for detectives, including Hankison, to secure the perimeter of the scene while SWAT officers made the arrest.
When the target noticed the officers, he ran away and climbed onto the roof of a building. Hankison spotted the target and shouted “he’s on the roof,” running between the suspect and the SWAT officers, who had their guns drawn.
The second incident occurred in May 2017 while SWAT officers were conducting a search warrant for a barbershop on Dixie Highway. SWAT officers were hiding outside and waiting for customers to exit the business to minimize the operation's impact on third parties, according to court records.
Hankison exposed SWAT officers' cover when he drove his police vehicle in the wrong lane toward the barbershop while pointing his gun out of the window and shouting as a customer exited the building, according to court records. His actions prompted SWAT officers to enter the building prematurely and use escalated tactics that weren't part of the original plan, prosecutors said.
Hankison's defense has filed motions for the court to deny the new evidence, though a decision on the matter has not yet been determined.
Why was Hankison's last trial deemed a mistrial?
The jury deliberated for three full days before informing Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings that the group was deadlocked. Jennings issued an Allen charge, urging the jury to reach a verdict, but her bid for a unanimous decision to be made ultimately failed and a mistrial was declared.
What is Hankison's history with LMPD?
Hankison had worked for LMPD for about 17 years at the time of the raid. He worked in the Sixth Division before joining the Narcotics Unit in 2016 and was fired in June 2020, The Courier Journal previously reported.
Then-Interim Chief Robert Schroeder wrote in a termination letter at the time that Hankison "displayed an extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "blindly fired 10 rounds" into Taylor's apartment.
Hankison appealed his termination to the Police Merit Board, which provides oversight for promotions, qualifications and discipline for officers. His appeal has been on hold since 2020 to allow the criminal proceedings to play out, said Steve Wilkins, chief examiner and administrator of the Civil Service Division in Louisville Metro Government Human Resources.
"Once the criminal trial is over, it will be up to his lawyers to let the Board know if they want to proceed or withdraw the appeal request," Wilkins wrote in a statement.
Did Hankison face any other charges?
Prosecutors from the Kentucky Attorney General's Office brought three charges of wanton endangerment related to his shots that crossed into a next-door unit against Hankison in 2020. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Prosecutors argued Hankison showed"extreme indifference to human life" during the shooting, while his defense counsel said he was acting in defense of his fellow officers.
The jury in that trial found him not guilty on all counts in March 2022, and the case was expunged from Hankison's criminal record later that year.
Reporters Rachel Smith and Josh Wood contributed to this report.
