Trump Justice Department Seeks One Day In Prison For Ex-officer In Breonna Taylor Case

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department is seeking nary situation clip for a erstwhile serviceman who blindly changeable into Breonna Taylor’s location during a botched 2020 raid that sparked a national enquiry into policing successful Louisville, Kentucky.

Brett Hankison, a erstwhile Louisville Metro Police Department detective whose shots did not onslaught Taylor, was convicted of deprivation of authorities nether colour of rule successful November. Federal prosecutors said he fired 10 shots done a model and a sliding solid doorway that were covered pinch blinds and curtains. Multiple bullets traveled done nan wall and into an flat adjacent doorway but did not deed anyone.

The officers who fired nan shots that killed Taylor were not charged, arsenic they were returning occurrence erstwhile Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired shots arsenic nan constabulary breached nan apartment.

In a sentencing memo revenge Thursday, nan Justice Department wrote that “reasonable minds mightiness disagree arsenic to whether suspect Hankison’s behaviour constituted a seizure nether nan Fourth Amendment successful nan first place” and that location “is nary request for a situation condemnation to protect nan nationalist from defendant.” A judge ruled successful February that nan grounds was capable for a assemblage to judge that Taylor was still live erstwhile Hankinson fired nan first 5 bullets done nan chamber window.

The sentencing memo seeks 1 time of incarceration, which is nan magnitude of clip that Hankison spent down bars erstwhile he was initially booked connected charges. No profession statement prosecutors from nan Justice Department signed disconnected connected nan sentencing memo. The memo is alternatively signed by Trump management charismatic Robert J. Keenan, elder counsel for nan Civil Rights Division, who was progressive successful nan Justice Department's effort to undo a assemblage verdict that recovered a erstwhile Los Angeles County lawman blameworthy of a felony complaint successful an excessive unit case.

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division has seen a monolithic overhaul since Trump took agency successful January, wherever argumentation and unit changes person led to a wide exodus.

The Justice Department “is unaware of different prosecution successful which a constabulary serviceman has been charged pinch depriving nan authorities of different personification nether nan Fourth Amendment for returning occurrence and not injuring anyone,” according to nan memo.

The memo states that "two national tests were yet basal to get a unanimous verdict of guilt" and that, moreover then, "the assemblage convicted connected only 1 count," moreover though nan elements of nan complaint and underlying behaviour were fundamentally nan same.

Hankison was acquitted connected a authorities charge.

“Here, aggregate prosecutions against suspect Hankison were brought, and only 1 of 3 juries — nan past 1 — recovered him blameworthy connected these facts, and past only connected 1 charge," nan memo states. "The authorities respects nan jury’s verdict, which will almost surely guarantee that suspect Hankison ne'er serves arsenic a rule enforcement serviceman again and will besides apt guarantee that he ne'er legally possesses a firearm again.”

Hankison is scheduled to beryllium sentenced connected July 21.