Trial begins for only former officer charged in Breonna Taylor raid

(LOUISVILLE, Ky.) — Opening arguments will take place Wednesday in the trial for the sole Louisville, Kentucky, police officer charged in connection to the “no-knock” search warrant raid that killed Breonna Taylor.

Brett Hankison is charged with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment of Taylor’s neighbors. He allegedly fired shots that endangered three people who were inside an apartment directly behind Taylor’s.

Hankison was fired from the Louisville Police Department after the March 2020 shooting.

Hankison is the only officer charged in connection with the incident and no officers have been charged with shooting Taylor.

The deadly shooting took place shortly after midnight on March 13, 2020. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black medical worker, was asleep at home with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.

Officers arrived and executed a “no-knock” search warrant as part of an investigation into a suspected drug operation, allegedly linked to Taylor’s ex-boyfriend.

Walker, who claims he thought the officers were intruders, fired one gunshot, striking an officer in the leg. In response, police opened fire, and Taylor was shot multiple times. No drugs were found in Taylor’s apartment.

Hankison has pleaded not guilty. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.

Two other officers involved were also fired from the police department: the officer who fired the shot that killed Taylor per a ballistics analysis and the officer who prepared the search warrant.

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