Ex-Louisville Cop Gets 33 Months in Prison for Breonna Taylor Raid

A Kentucky judge on Monday handed down a 33-month prison sentence to former police officer Brett Hankison, almost four years after the botched 2020 raid that left 26-year-old Breonna Taylor dead and led to nationwide rallies.

The sentence marks a sharp rejection of what federal prosecutors had asked for,  just a day in jail and three years of supervised release. US District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings didn’t mince words, saying no jail time would be “not appropriate,” and adding she was “startled” more people weren’t hurt in the chaos that night.

Back in March 2020, Hankison was one of several Louisville Metro Police officers who stormed Taylor’s apartment with a “no-knock” warrant tied to a drug investigation. But the warrant was based on faulty information. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, thinking intruders had broken in, fired a shot. Police responded with 22 rounds, including 10 fired by Hankison, several of which tore through a neighbor’s apartment, where a pregnant woman, her partner, and a young child were inside.

Although none of Hankison’s bullets struck Taylor, a federal jury found in November 2024 that he used excessive force and violated her civil rights. He was convicted on one count and is the only officer so far to face time in prison.

The sentencing caps a long and emotional legal saga that began with Hankison’s acquittal on state charges in 2022 and ended with the federal government stepping in. His case, along with George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota, became a flashpoint in the push for police reform and racial justice across the US.

With input from Al Jazeera