LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Attorneys for Brett Hankison, the former Louisville Metro Police detective found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights, have filed several motions in the U.S. District Court, including the request for a new trial. 

In a motion filed Nov. 15, Hankison’s attorneys accuse prosecutors of engaging in misconduct during his recent trial, depriving him of due process.

The motion claims prosecutors “misstated evidence in the record” during closing arguments and asserted opinions regarding Hankison’s actions, disregarding instructions from the Court. According to the motion, two days before deliberations began Oct. 30, both parties were told to avoid specific arguments during closing arguments, including whether other officers involved should have shot. It says the prosecutor made several statements the Court advised against during his closing argument. 

The motion doesn’t specifically name prosecutors, but U.S. prosecutor Michael Songer presented the case.

The defense also accuses the prosecutor of improper vouching, when he or she supports a witness’s credibility by indicating a personal belief, and improper witness bolstering, which occurs when they imply “the witness’s testimony is corroborated by evidence known to the government but not known to the jury.” They say he attacked Hankison’s credibility not based on evidence or facts before the jury.

Former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison arrives at federal court in Louisville on Oct. 28, 2024. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)

“The prosecutor made a variety of statements which amounted to expressing his personal opinion about the truthfulness and/or reliability of witnesses’ testimony,” the motion reads. “Specifically, by imploring the jury to apply more weight to the testimony of officers called by the government throughout the entirety of his closing.” 

It argues this mislead the jury, while adding the fact Hankison has had three separate trials over the came conduct suggests there is no overwhelming evidence of guilt.. 

Another motion requests a judgement of acquittal on Hankison’s guilty verdict, arguing the evidence in this case does not prove he intentionally restrained Taylor’s movement by force. Taylor was shot and killed by former police detective Myles Cosgrove on March 13, 2020, as the Louisville Metro Police Department attempted to execute a “no-knock” warrant on her apartment.

Hankison fired 10 shots that night, but none of the shots hit anyone. His bullets went into Taylor’s apartment and into a neighboring unit, where a child was sleeping. 

“In this case, the Government failed to prove that Ms. Taylor was alive at the time Mr. Hankinson (sic) fired his second volley of shots through the bedroom window, let alone that Ms. Taylor was conscious and her movement was somehow restrained by Brett Hankinson (sic),” the motion says.

In a third and final motion, Hankison’s attorneys are requesting to conduct post-trial juror interviews “regarding any external or unlawful influences to which any juror may have been exposed.”

Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, reacts to the guilty verdict against former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison. He was the was the first police officer who was involved in the deadly raid to be convicted. (Spectrum News 1/Jonathon Gregg)

“Given the length of deliberations as well as the jury indicating that they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on two occasions prior to a guilty verdict, the court is well within its discretion to allow juror interviews,” the defense argues.

After a nearly three-week trial, the jury found Hankison guilty of violating Taylor’s civil rights but not guilty of violating the civil rights of her neighbors in an adjacent apartment. His sentencing is set for Wednesday, March 12, 2025, at 10 a.m., one day before the fifth anniversary of Taylor’s death. The conviction against Hankison carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

This was the third attempt to prosecute Hankison for his actions on the night of March 13, 2020. A judge declared a mistrial Nov. 16, 2023, in the first federal trial after the jury deliberated for several days but could not reach a unanimous decision. He was acquitted in 2022 on state charges of wanton endangerment for shooting into Taylor’s windows and a glass patio door.

Hankison was one of four officers who was charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in 2022 with violating Taylor’s civil rights. The three other former officers charged were involved in crafting the search warrant.