Louisville police sack cop involved in Breonna Taylor's death for 'blindly firing 10 shots' in botched up raid
LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY: Louisville Metro Police Department, on Tuesday, June 23, announced that it has fired one of the police officers involved in 26-year-old black EMT Breonna Taylor's death. The department, in a statement, said that the officer, Brett Hankison, 44, showed "extreme indifference to the value of human life" when he "blindly fired 10 rounds" into her apartment in the botched no-knock raid in March.
The police department stated that Hankinson was removed from his job for his part in the killing of Taylor, who was shot at least eight times while she was sleeping in her bed by police officials. The department said that the officer violated its regulations and deadly force standards. The tragedy occurred on March 13, 2020, during a botched police drug raid as the officers in plainclothes barged into her house unannounced after midnight. The incident has left thousands of people outraged and has triggered increasing calls by thousands, including lawmakers like Louisville's mayor and Sen. Kamala Harris for a probe in the case, months after she was killed.
Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder, in a letter confirming Hankinson's firing, said that he has been accused of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into the apartment endangering the lives of Taylor and three people in the apartment next door. It was previously reported that Hankison had also been accused of sexual assault on the job on a previous occasion.
Schroeder, in the letter, denounced the officer's actions as a "shock to the conscience." The decision to fire Hankinson comes nearly three months after Taylor was shot and killed in her own apartment. "Based upon my review, these are extreme violations of our policies," Schroeder said. "I find your conduct a shock to the conscience. I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion," he said referring to Hankinson, adding that he also showed "extreme indifference to the value of human life."
"You have previously been disciplined for reckless conduct that injured an innocent person in Professional Standards Case #17-062 for which you were disciplined on January 9, 2019," the two-page letter read.
The Taylor family's attorney, Sam Aguiar, welcomed the news, saying this was a "small step" on the way of bringing charges against the offices responsible for the EMT's death. "It's another good, small step," Aguiar said. "We won't be satisfied until rightful charges are brought against him until charges are brought against everyone responsible for Breonna's death."
The letter also added that Hankinson could appeal the decision in writing with 10 days. If Hankinson files an appeal, then the Police Merit Board will hold a public hearing to decided whether his termination was "unjustified or unsupported by proper evidence."
On March 13, Taylor died in her own home in the early hours after police raided the home she shared with her boyfriend Kenneth Walker in Louisville. Authorities have claimed that the midnight search was part of a drug investigation, however, a lawsuit filed by the family states there were no drugs found at the home. The family lawyers have said that the main suspect, Jamarcus Glover, was already in police custody at the time of the raid. Neither Taylor nor Walker had any criminal records.
Taylor and Walker were sleeping in their bed when police raided their home. The couple thought they were being broken into and Walker, who has a license to carry, fired his gun in self-defense thinking they were being robbed, the suit said. Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and officers Brett Hankison and Myles Cosgrove entered their apartment shortly before 1 AM without announcing themselves, and the shot fired by Walker struck Mattingley's leg. The officers, in retaliation, fired a hail of over 25 bullets, eight of which struck Taylor who died at the scene. Walker is now facing charges of first-degree assault and attempted murder of a police officer.
It was later revealed that the officers had entered the wrong house searching for drug suspect Glover who had already been arrested earlier that day in his home, according to Courier-Journal. With no accountability in the tragic police shooting, the case has sparked national fury as its highlights emerged days after the arrest of the suspected killers of Ahmaud Arbery who was shot dead while he was jogging in Georgia. Arbery's shooting resulted in widespread national demonstrations with many asking why the suspects had not been apprehended for two months.