Brett Hankison, the only Louisville Metro Police officer to face criminal charges for his actions during the raid on Breonna Taylor’s home, will be let out of federal prison in New Jersey.
A federal appeals court granted Hankison bail, a month after prosecutors with the Department of Justice requested it. In granting the bail request, the judges said Hankison was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community.
Hankison was one of three officers to use his weapon during the middle-of-the-night raid in March 2020. He and others shot back after Taylor’s boyfriend fired once when officers broke down their front door, striking another officer in the leg.
Hankison was terminated from LMPD in June 2020 for shooting through a window and door without being able to see inside. While his bullets did not strike anyone, they traveled through walls, including into a neighboring apartment. He was acquitted of state-level wanton endangerment charges in 2022 and a previous federal case ended in a mistrial.
The DOJ’s approach to Hankison’s case has changed after coming under the leadership of President Donald Trump, with prosecutors earlier this year seeking time served. He was convicted of violating Taylor’s rights under the Biden administration.
After Hankison’s conviction last year, Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer expressed concern about how the Trump administration might change police reform in America.
“We know that Trump's administration’s DOJ refused to investigate. We know that he favors the police over life, especially a Black life, a brown life, just life. I have no trust in his administration,” she told LPM News in November 2024.
Earlier this year, the Trump administration backed off a negotiated consent decree that would have imposed federal oversight onto Louisville’s police reform efforts. The city now plans to handle that on its own.
