LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The federal case against a former Louisville police detective is now in the hands of the jury.
Brett Hankison is charged with violating the constitutional rights of Breonna Taylor and others for firing his weapon into Taylor's apartment during a botched police raid more than four years ago. Taylor was shot and killed by former police detective Myles Cosgrove. Hankison's first federal trial ended in a mistrial last November.
The jury heard closing arguments Oct. 30 from U.S. prosecutors and Hankison’s defense. Prosecutors argue Hankison violated Louisville Metro Police Department policy by firing blindly into Taylor’s apartment 10 times after Taylor’s then-boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired a single shot at officers.
U.S. prosecutor Michael Songer began closing arguments by stating, “shock and disbelief, that’s how SWAT Commander Dale Massey reacted …” when he realized the shots had not come from a criminal inside an apartment but from Hankison.
Several of Hankison’s rounds entered the walls of an adjacent apartment where three other people were living. Prosecutors alleged Hankison’s use of unreasonable force and his actions violated the Fourth Amendment rights of the victims.
“You know, a reasonable officer would have never fired shots through covered windows because no other officer did," Songer stated. "All of the officers on scene perceived that same deadly threat and no other officers fired through covered windows because they didn’t have target ID."
The prosecutor added shooting through a covered window “is not a valid police tactic; it's a crime.”
Attorney Don Malarcik delivered closing arguments for the defense.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this case is about Brett Hankison’s ten shots that never hit anyone," Malarcik said. "Not a single human being; no one."
The defense argued Hankison was acting in defense of his fellow officers after Kenneth Walker shot an officer.
“He did exactly what he was supposed to do," Malarcik stated. "He was acting to save lives. He fires to stop the threat, and he finishes when the threat has extinguished."
The defense argued LMPD’s use of force policy does not explicitly prohibit officers from shooting through covered windows while engaging a deadly threat.
The case is now with 12 jurors, six men and six women. Jurors will now decide whether the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt Hankison is guilty of the charges. If convicted, Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.