The United States Department of Justice is recommending that a Louisville police officer receive a one-day prison sentence for his role in the deadly raid on Breonna Taylor’s home in 2020.
Brett Hankison, who was a detective with the Louisville Metro Police Department at the time, was convicted in federal court last year for violating Taylor’s civil rights.
Prosecutors from the DOJ, then under the Biden administration, argued Hankison fired blindly into Taylor’s apartment after one of his fellow officers was shot once by her boyfriend. Hankison’s bullets traveled through Taylor’s apartment into a neighboring unit that was occupied by two adults and a young child.
Hankison’s trial last year was the third time he had to answer for his actions during the raid. He was acquitted of state charges in 2022 and a federal trial in 2023 ended in a hung jury.
In a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday, attorneys representing the DOJ questioned whether Hankison should have been prosecuted in the first place, saying no officer has ever been convicted of the same crime under similar circumstances.
“The government respects the jury’s verdict, which will almost certainly ensure that defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again and will also likely ensure that he never legally possesses a firearm again,” the memo states. “But adding on top of those consequences … in the government’s view, simply be unjust under these circumstances.”
The memo was signed by Robert J. Keenan, an attorney in the DOJ’s civil rights division, and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a former legal advisor to President Donald Trump and frequent Fox News guest who was sworn in in April.
Lonita Baker, an attorney representing Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer, said the DOJ did not contact Taylor’s family before filing the memo.
Lawyers for the family released a statement Thursday saying that, once again, Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer is left “heartbroken and angry.” They called the recommendation “a blatant betrayal of the jury’s decision.”
“Every American who believes in equal justice under the law should be outraged,” the statement said. “It is unfathomable that, after finally securing a conviction, the Department of Justice would seek a sentence so drastically below the federal guidelines.”
The family attorneys said Palmer is holding out hope that the judge will “deliver true justice for Breonna Taylor” at sentencing.
Taylor's killing sparked mass protests and a broad DOJ investigation that led to a scathing report outlining civil rights violations and discriminatory policing by Louisville officers. Earlier this year, Trump's DOJ moved to dismiss a federal consent decree agreement and local leaders including Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg pledged to pursue reforms without federal oversight.
Hankison is the only LMPD officer who participated in the raid on Taylor’s home to face any legal consequences. Former detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty to falsifying parts of the search warrant for Taylor’s apartment, but has not yet been sentenced.
Shameka Parrish-Wright, a Louisville Metro Council member and leader in the 2020 protest movement, called the DOJ's recommendation a "devastating slap in the face."
"To those directly impacted and to everyone who understands the broader systemic failures this case revealed, one day behind bars does not suffice," she said in a statement Thursday. "This is not justice. It is justice delayed, again and again—and now, justice denied."
Parrish-Wright said many people are losing faith in the criminal justice system and that her heart goes out to Taylor's family.
In its filing, the DOJ acknowledged its recommendation is a significant departure from the federal sentencing guidelines.
The U.S. Probation Office is the agency responsible for recommending sentences, taking all factors into account, such as criminal history, acknowledgement of wrongdoing and whether someone was provoked to commit a crime. In Hankison’s case, the Probation Office recommended a sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison.
Attorneys for the DOJ, in recommending a much lower sentence, pointed to the toll the trials have taken on Hankison and the danger he may face in prison as a former police officer. They also argued Hankison reasonably responded to officers being fired upon, the same argument Hankison’s attorneys made during his trial.
The DOJ’s one-day recommendation would actually result in Hankison serving no additional prison time, because it would take into account the day he was booked and had his initial appearance in court. The government is recommending Hankison be put on supervised release for three years after his sentencing.
It will be up to U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings to decide what the appropriate sentence is. Hankison’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 21 at 1:30 p.m.
This story was updated to include comments from Shameka Parrish-Wright and lawyers representing Breonna Taylor's family.
