Breonna Taylor case: Ex-police officer handed 33 months prison sentence; Judge rejects DOJ’s call for leniency

A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department appeal for clemency on Monday and handed down a 33-month prison term to a former officer for breaching the civil rights of a Breonna Taylor, a Black woman, whose 2020 death sparked extensive demonstrations.The Kentucky jury found Brett Hankison, a previous Louisville police detective, guilty in November of violating Taylor's civil rights during a failed police operation at her residence.Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department's civil rights division, made an extraordinary request to Judge Rebecca Jennings last week, suggesting a sentence as time served, which is one day Hankison spent in custody upon arrest.However, Jennings, a Trump-era judicial appointee, dismissed this suggestion, expressing concern over the prosecution's sentencing document and lenient recommendations, according to the Louisville Courier Journal.The sentence included 33 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release, despite the possibility of a life sentence.The deaths of 26-year-old Taylor followed by George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man killed by a white Minneapolis officer in May 2020, catalysed substantial protests across the United States and internationally against police misconduct and racial discrimination.

On March 13, 2020, around midnight, Taylor and her partner Kenneth Walker were asleep in her Louisville flat when they detected noise at the entrance. Walker discharged his firearm, wounding an officer, believing an intrusion was occurring.The police, armed with a disputed no-knock warrant for a drug arrest, responded with over 30 shots, fatally wounding Taylor.During the operation, Hankison fired 10 shots, some entering a neighbouring flat, without hitting anyone.

He remains the sole officer convicted regarding the incident.In her sentencing document, Dhillon argued that a substantial prison term would be "unjust." "Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death," she said. "Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms Taylor's home."The Taylor family's legal representatives acknowledged that whilst the sentence didn't "fully reflect the severity of the harm caused," it exceeded the Justice Department's recommendation. "We respect the court's decision, but we will continue to call out the DOJ's failure to stand firmly behind Breonna's rights and the rights of every Black woman whose life is treated as expendable," they said.In May, the Justice Department withdrew lawsuits initiated under Joe Biden's administration against Louisville and Minneapolis police forces, which had alleged excessive force and racial discrimination.