Trial for ex-LMPD Detective Brett Hankison in Breonna Taylor case delayed nearly a year

Andrew Wolfson, Louisville Courier Journal
·2 min read
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Former Louisville police Detective Brett Hankison is set for trial Aug. 21, 2023, on charges that he violated the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend and three neighbors on the night in 2020 when she was killed by another officer during a raid gone bad.

Hankison had been scheduled for trial next month, but during a pretrial conference Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Louisville, he waived his right to a speedy trial.

Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings said the trial could last as long as four weeks.

Hankison is charged with using excessive force by firing blindly into Taylor’s apartment on March 13, 2020, through a sliding glass door and a window that were covered by curtains.

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Former police officer Brett Hankison is questioned by his defense attorney March 2 in Louisville, Ky.
Former police officer Brett Hankison is questioned by his defense attorney March 2 in Louisville, Ky.

He was acquitted of wanton endangerment in state court but is charged with violating the civil rights of Taylor, her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and three neighbors – including a pregnant woman and 5-year-old child, whose apartment was struck by his bullets.

He was charged federally in August in an indictment separate than the one accusing Sgt. Kyle Meany and Detectives Joshua Jaynes and Kelly Goodlett of fabricating a warrant for the search and other offenses. Goodlett has pleaded guiltyand resigned while Meany, Jaynes and Hankison were fired.

Hankison appeared Wednesday with new counsel − Jack Byrd of Nashville, Tennessee, and Ibrahim A. Farag of Louisville.

Hankison was fired in 2020 when then-interim Louisville Metro Police Chief Robert Schroeder called the rounds he fired "a shock to the conscience."

What you should know:Which officers face federal charges in the Breonna Taylor case:

Hankison, who was an officer for 17 years, testified in Jefferson Circuit Court he was trying to protect two fellow detectives at the apartment’s front door, including Sgt. John Mattingly, who was shot in the leg by Walker, who has said he thought the couple were being robbed.

Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove returned fire and a bullet from Cosgrove’s gun hit Taylor, killing her.

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Brett Hankison's trial in Breonna Taylor case delayed nearly a year