Former Us Officer Has Charges From Shooting During Breonna Taylor Raid Dropped
Former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison testifies during his trial [Timothy D Easley/ Pool via AP Photo]
The ruling Jury has found Brett Hankison innocent of endangering the lives of neighbours when he fired his weapon through sliding-glass doors of an apartment.
A jury sitting in the state of Kentucky, United States, has just wiped the slate of a former police officer clean of charges that alleged that he endangered the lives of neighbours when he sent shots ringing out into an apartment during a 2020 drug raid that led to the unfortunate demise of Breonna Taylor.
The panel of consisting of eight men and four women had its verdict passed on Thursday, roughly three hours after taking on the case following closing arguments arising from both the prosecution and defence attorneys.
Hankison was already facing a three-count charge of wanton endangerment for sending bullets flying through sliding-glass side doors and a window of Taylor’s apartment during the raid that took the precious life of the 26-year-old Black woman. Although Hankison’s attorneys never debated the evidence of ballistics, but said he released 10 bullets because he held the assumption that his fellow officers were “being executed”.
Hankison testified during the trial, saying he had seen a muzzle flash from Taylor’s pretty dark hallway right after police had burst through the door, so was led to think his fellow officers were under heavy fire, so he thought to intervene with the 10 bullets fired off.
