On Thursday, a jury acquitted a former Kentucky police officer in the March 2020 raid that endangered Breonna Taylor’s neighbors.
WLKY reported that ex-Louisville cop Brett Hankison was found not guilty of three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The charges did not pertain to Taylor’s shooting death, but the shots Hankison allegedly fired into a neighboring apartment that endangered Cody Etherton, Chelsey Napper, and their 5-year-old son.
Hankison and detective Myles Cosgrove were fired for their role in the deadly 2020 raid that killed Taylor, 26. No other officers were criminally charged. In January 2020, Louisville police exonerated Mattingly and two other officers in the fatal shooting.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, was present at the time Louisville police executed a no-knock warrant at Taylor’s apartment in connection with a narcotics investigation.
Brett Hankison trial: The reading of the not guilty verdict.
He was acquitted of all charges connected to the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor's home. https://t.co/LcCj2RShMC pic.twitter.com/rtCH1wXQmt
— WLKY (@WLKY) March 3, 2022
Walker has repeatedly claimed that he fired a single warning shot, believing it was a home invasion. Sergeant Jonathan Mattingly claimed the bullet fired by Walker struck his femoral artery, resulting in him undergoing a five-hour surgery.
Last March, prosecutors announced that they were permanently dropping the criminal charges against Walker. However, Mattingly sued Walker in October 2020, claiming Walker assaulted him and caused him emotional distress. That lawsuit is pending.
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[Featured image: Breonna Taylor/Instagram; Brett Hankison/Louisville Police Department]
