US judge sentences former police officer in Breonna Taylor case

on July 21, 2025

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky - Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison was sentenced on Monday to 33 months in prison for violating Breonna Taylor's rights during the no knock raid in which she was shot and killed, after President Donald Trump's Justice Department asked the judge to imprison him for a single day. 

Breonna Taylor, aged 26, was an African-American medical worker who was killed just after midnight on March 13, 2020, after police officers from Louisville Metro Police Department LMPD forced entry into her home. Mistaking the police for intruders, Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a warning shot, that was alleged to have struck officer Jonathan Mattingly.

Taylor's death, along with the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis at the hands of a white police officer, sparked racial justice protests across the U.S. over the treatment of people of color by police departments.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, who handed down the sentence on Monday, criticized prosecutors for making a "180-degree" turn in its approach to the case and said political factors appeared to have influenced its recommendation for a one-day prison sentence.

“This sentence will not and cannot be measured against Ms. Taylor’s life and the incident as a whole,” Jennings said.

The officers involved were not set to face charges until certain facts came to light. A Kentucky State Police (KSP) ballistics report cast doubt on the integrity of the case after it explicitly stated the bullet that struck Mattingly, an officer injured during the no-knock raid, was neither “identified nor eliminated as having been fired” from a 9-millimeter firearm belonging to Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker. The initial ballistics performed by KSP did not conclude that Kenny ’s shot struck Mattingly. It was initially argued that LMPD officers don’t carry 9mm guns but it was revealed that Hankison’s own employee file shows a Glock 9 mm as a service weapon.

A False Claim Made on the Warrant

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service was not involved in inspecting packages at Breonna Taylor's address related to a drug trafficking investigation, despite claims made by police in the warrant affidavit for the raid on her home. 

Specifically, a Louisville postal inspector stated that his office was not part of an inspection of possible drug trafficking activity at her address. This information contradicts claims made by police, including Detective Joshua Jaynes, who stated in the warrant affidavit that they had verified through the postal inspector that a man connected to the investigation was receiving packages at Taylor's home. 

Further, another detective, Hankinson, told investigators that the postal inspector confirmed no packages of interest were sent there. Detective Jaynes was later charged with falsifying information in the warrant, including the claim about the postal inspection, according to the Department of Justice.

Charges Associated with The Taylor Shooting

Brett Hankison: Fired for his actions during the raid, he faced state charges of endangering neighbors and federal charges related to civil rights violations.

Kelly Goodlett: The detective pleaded guilty after she admitted to helping former LMPD officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany obtain a warrant for Taylor's home, despite knowing they lacked probable cause.

Kyle Meany: A sergeant who approved the warrant and also lied to investigators. He was fired from the police department after the charges.

Joshua Jaynes: A detective who drafted the warrant. He also faced charges for his role in preparing and approving the false warrant.

State Charges: Brett Hankison was found not guilty of endangering neighbors by a state jury, but faced federal charges in connection with the same actions.