The federal civil rights trial of officer Brett Hankinson, a police officer charged in connection with the fatal 2020 Breonna Taylor shooting, was declared a mistrial on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings declared the mistrial following the jury’s inability to reach a verdict, according to the New York Post. The result leaves federal prosecutors with a decision on whether to pursue another trial against Hankinson. (RELATED: Police Release Report From Breonna Taylor’s Death, List Injuries As ‘None’ Despite Her Reportedly Being Shot 8 Times)
The Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a written statement saying the department “is actively considering all of our available options.”
BREAKING: A mistrial was declared by a judge in the federal case against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison. He was charged with violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend who was in the house with her, and their neighbors. https://t.co/3TjLPw77Te
— ABC News (@ABC) November 16, 2023
Hankinson was handed two indictments for depravation of rights under color of law, according to reporting by ABC News. Prosecutors indicted the officer on the charge of depriving Taylor and her boyfriend of their right to be free from unreasonable seizures, including use of unreasonable force. The officer was also indicted for allegedly depriving the liberty of Taylor’s neighbors, including their right to be free of unjustified force, per the outlet.
Prosecutors argued Hankinson “willfully used unconstitutionally excessive force… when he fired his service weapon into Taylor’s apartment through a covered window and covered glass door,” according to ABC 6.
Hankinson, the sole officer charged in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor, won an acquittal in a separate March 2022 state trial, in which he was charged with endangering Taylor’s neighbors, according to CNN. The jury acquitted Hankinson of two charges of felony wanton endangerment, per the outlet.
The officer fired 10 bullets during the botched no-knock raid of Taylor’s home, none of which hit Taylor or her neighbors, per the outlet.
Hankinson, along with other officers, broke through the door of Taylor’s home in March 2020 while executing a no-knock raid. The officers were searching for Taylor’s ex-boyfriend Jamarcus Glover, who they did not find on the scene. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, shot at the officers with a firearm he legally owned. Officers fired back, fatally shooting Taylor in the process. The two other officers involved in the raid, who also fired bullets, never received any charges.