DOJ suggests ex-officer convicted in raid of Breonna Taylor’s home should get 1 day in jail
Brett Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor's apartment, but didn't hit anyone.
The Department of Justice recommended that the former officer who was found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights during a botched Kentucky raid should receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday.
Brett Hankison was found guilty of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights when the former Louisville police officer blindly shot into her apartment 10 times in March 2020. Hankison's bullets did not hit anyone.
"Put simply, the Guidelines do not fairly apply to a charge under § 242 involving the unique facts and circumstances of this case," the DOJ stated in the filing. "Accordingly, the United States respectfully recommends that the Court grant a significant downward departure."
The Justice Department filing, which also recommended three years of supervised release, was signed only by department officials and none of the line prosecutors.
"This sets a dangerous precedent," attorneys of Taylor's family said in a statement on Thursday. "When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone's constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity."
In the Justice Department's filing they pointed to the fact that Hankison was acquitted of all charges in his state trial before federal prosecutors indicted him on two counts of violating Taylor's civil rights.
"Both counts arose from the same nucleus of facts: believing the officers were under attack, Defendant Hankison ran to the side of the apartment unit and fired blindly into Ms. Taylor’s home," the memorandum stated. "Again, none of those shots wounded anyone. After a recent review of many § 242 cases, counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone."
The sentencing for Hankison, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, has been delayed until July 21 after prosecutors asked for more time to file their sentencing memo. Hankison's defense team did not object to the delay.
This comes after Hankison's defense team filed a sentencing memorandum urging the judge for leniency, citing various factors.
In the sentencing memorandum, Hankison's defense team argued, in part, that Taylor's boyfriend first fired at police, which is what "provoked" the three officers, including Hankison, "to discharge their weapons." They also argued that in prison Hankison could be "suspectable to abuse based on his status as a police officer" and the immense media coverage of this case.
The guilty verdict came in November, hours after the jury acquitted Hankison of a second count of violating the civil rights of three of Taylor's neighbors, who lived in an adjacent apartment that was also struck by gunfire during the raid.
Taylor was fatally shot during the raid. The three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, striking one of the officers.
Hankison fired 10 rounds through Taylor's sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains, prosecutors said. Several of the rounds traveled into Taylor's neighbor's apartment, where three people were at the time. None of the 10 rounds hit anyone.
Prosecutors argued Hankison's use of force was unjustified, put people in danger and violated the civil rights of Taylor and her three neighbors. The indictment alleged Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived her neighbors of the right to be free from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law.
Hankison was initially set to be sentenced in April 2025, but the sentencing was delayed until June 2025 and then again until July 16 and now until July 21 after the judge partially granted the motion filed by prosecutors, who asked for a 14-day delay.
The Justice Department declined to comment beyond the filing. Hankison's legal team didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.
ABC News' Pierre Thomas, Jack Date, Alex Mallin, Meredith Deliso, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Jack Moore and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report.
