The verdict on former Kentucky police detective Brett Hankinson was revealed yesterday by a federal jury for the usage of “excessive force” (CNN) and violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor that resulted in her death at the age of 26.

Breonna Taylor was fatally shot back in 2020 in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky, when “officers wearing plain clothes executed a no-knock search warrant at her home” (BBC). The officers were under the belief that Taylor’s boyfriend was using the home as a hub for narcotics. This resulted in a shootout between Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, and the officers on scene, which resulted in the officers returning “32 bullets” (BBC). Eight of those bullets hit Taylor, which led to her death.

This incident sparked outrage at the height of the Black Lives Matter movement, where police violence was called to action, as many people were in complete and utter shock at the details of the case and called for justice for Breonna Taylor.

Two other officers were involved: Myles Cosgrove, who was terminated in December 2020, and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, who retired the same year. Neither were charged, as it was stated by the Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron that “the two officers were justified in their use of force after having been fired upon by Walker” (ABC News).

Hankinson was terminated from the Louisville police department in 2020 and originally faced three counts of felony wanton endangerment for “endangering the people in a neighboring apartment [during the drug raid]” (CNN). Harkinson would plead not guilty and initially was not charged with the death of Taylor. Last year, there was a mistrial as the jurors were unable to come to a unanimous decision. That was “the second attempt to convict Hankinson for his actions” (ABC News).

Brett Hankinson now could face up to life in prison if convicted, as prosecutors stated that “Hankinson acted recklessly, firing 10 shots into doors and a window where he couldn’t see a target” (AP News). Which “marks the first time any officer has been convicted in the deadly raid of 13 March 2020” (BBC).

The jury were said to be in tears as they gave the final verdict after they “were deadlocked on the charge of using excessive force on Taylor but chose to continue deliberating, as “the six-man, six-woman jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days” (AP News).

Taylor’s family celebrated the news of the verdict with Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, saying, “It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard. The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice” (AP News).