Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison has been ordered to report to prison on Thursday.
Hankison was convicted of violating the rights of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor during the botched raid on her apartment in 2020. Police officers killed Taylor during the raid, resulting in a summer of protests and a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
Hankison, who prosecutors accused of firing blindly into Taylor’s apartment, was the only officer convicted of a crime. While his bullets did not strike her, he was sentenced to 33 months in prison for violating her civil rights.
Attorneys representing Hankison have appealed the verdict, and last week they asked the judge in the case to delay his imprisonment for 60 to 90 days while the appeal moves forward.
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, appointed by President Donald Trump, denied Hankison’s request. In an order filed Monday afternoon, Grady Jennings noted that Hankison’s sentence is “considerably below guideline sentence based on the jury’s verdict” and said she did not want to disturb the jury’s verdict “without legal reason.”
“Despite his low risk of flight or danger to others, Hankison has failed to demonstrate a substantial question of law or fact material to his appeal justifying bond,” the order concluded.
The ruling means Hankison will be expected to report to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Thursday, unless an appeals court steps in.
Hankison was first prosecuted by the U.S. Department of Justice under President Joe Biden. When Trump took over in January, the DOJ attorneys assigned to the case began undermining it, and unsuccessfully requested Hankison receive time served.
Grady Jennings ordered Hankison to prison despite the fact that the DOJ did not oppose the motion to delay.
