Prosecutors: Officers will speak on ex-LMPD cop’s ‘unthinkable’ actions in Breonna Taylor case

When making their opening arguments to a jury Thursday, federal prosecutors said former Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison was “bouncing and pumping his fists” after he “blindly” fired shots into apartment windows and sliding doors during the raid that killed Breonna Taylor in March 2020.

Prosecutor Anna Gotfryd said Hankison’s actions were “unthinkable,” “went against everything officers are taught,” and made other experienced officers sick. It wasn’t what happened during the breach of Taylor’s apartment, but what happened after — when she alleged Hankison waited until all firing in the hallway had stopped — that he took cover in the parking lot and fired additional gunshots into the home of Taylor and her neighbors.

Gotfryd made these statements to a group of jurors who will decide whether Hankison, a former detective, violated the civil rights of those in the apartments he fired into, which included Taylor, her boyfriend Kenneth Walker, and three people in the neighboring apartment. He’s charged with two federal offenses that accuse him of using unreasonable and unjustified force under the color of law.

Hankison wasn’t the officer who shot Taylor. But the officer who did, according to an investigation into the incident, will testify in court that Hankison’s actions were “unbelievably dangerous,” Gotfryd said. Gotfryd said former Louisville Metro Police Detective Myles Cosgrove, who was fired for violating department policy when he shot Taylor, will speak to the jury.

Taylor’s death was one of two highly-publicized incidents of excessive police force in 2020 — along with George Floyd’s death at the hands of police in Minnesota — that prompted months of racial justice protests across America, eventually leading to reforms within the Louisville Metro Police Department and federal charges against several of the officers involved.

Prosecutor: Other officers ‘shocked’ by Hankison

“Once the shooting was over, while standing in the safety of the parking lot, (Hankison) fired through two windows covered in blinds and curtains without being able to see anything inside,” Gotfryd said Thursday.

Jurors are expected to hear from other officers and firearm training experts in the trial against Hankison, which is expected to last three weeks, according to court testimony. Gotfryd said other officers were “shocked” by Hankison’s actions and that his behavior went against police training.

Most importantly, Gotfryd said, Hankison allegedly fired through windows and doors that had no visibility, being covered in thick, plastic blinds and blackout curtains. Evidence presented to the jury is expected to include curtain and blinds which were penetrated by bullet holes.

Defense attorney: prosecutor comments are ‘dramatic’

Hankison’s attorney, Jack Byrd, said the government’s statements were “dramatic.”

“If that was actually what happened it would be terrible, but it is not what happened,” Byrd said in court Thursday. “The proof shows that is not what happened.”

Byrd said the defense’s proof will show the curtains had gaps in them, and could allow for some visibility. Byrd said the defense would show jurors how statements about that night’s events had changed, and how the search warrant on Taylor’s apartment was served.

Police were serving a warrant they had obtained for Taylor’s apartment as part of an investigation into her ex-boyfriend. One former Louisville officer, Kelly Goodlett, has admitted in federal court that she and another officer falsified information to get that warrant. Byrd argued Hankison was not responsible for the lead-up to the fatal incident.

“Brett Hankison did not have anything to do with the preparation of the search warrant, the investigation of the warrants, or the planning of the execution of those warrants,” Byrd said.

Byrd told the jury Hankison was just there that night to get overtime, and search the apartment after the raid was over with his canine. No one but Taylor was expected to be at the home, and the person watching the apartments did not alert other officers serving the warrant of Walker’s presence, Byrd said.

Byrd said Hankison didn’t “willingly and knowingly violate” the rights of someone he didn’t know was there.

Defense testimony is expected to highlight officers’ training and the specifics of false documents used to obtain the search warrants. A focus will also be on rifle shell casings on the scene that were never matched to a police firearm.

The federal trial began Monday and continued through Thursday with Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings and attorneys working to select 16 jurors out of 200 prospects. A final jury was seated Thursday morning and opening statements were given in the afternoon.

Taylor’s neighbor: LMPD shot up my home

Chelsey Napper, one of Taylor’s neighbors, was questioned after opening statements Thursday. Napper was Taylor’s neighbor, whose apartment was hit with gunfire while she was inside with her 5-year-old son and boyfriend at the time. Napper was also seven months pregnant.

She described the night of the shooting as “the night LMPD shot up (her) home.”

“You are supposed to be able to call the police for help, not them shoot through the windows when you are sleeping,” she said in court Thursday.

Hankison’s trial, which is for charges that were handed down more than a year ago, could take three to four weeks, according to court records. It was expected to continue Friday.