The Department of Justice is requesting a lenient sentence for a former Louisville police officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in 2020.
On Thursday, federal prosecutors asked a judge to impose a sentence of one day for Brett Hankison. That is in addition to a three-year supervised release. In November, he was convicted of violating Taylor's civil rights. Hankison is set to be sentenced next week and could face life in prison.
If the court agrees, he would not face any additional prison time and would be credited with time served.
Taylor, who was employed as an EMT, was inside her home when police conducted a “no-knock raid.” Thinking the officers were intruders, Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at them.
Hankison returned fire, firing 10 shots through a door. It was determined that former Louisville police officer Myles Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor.
Her death, along with the murder of George Floyd, led to nationwide protests calling for police reform.
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In a separate trial, Hankison was cleared of wanton endangerment charges.
The Justice Department under the Biden administration appeared ready to push for a maximum sentence.
“Brett Hankison was found guilty by a jury of his peers for willfully depriving Breonna Taylor of her constitutional rights,” said then-Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “His use of deadly force was unlawful and put Ms. Taylor in harm’s way. This verdict is an important step toward accountability for the violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but justice for the loss of Ms. Taylor is a task that exceeds human capacity.”
However, the Trump administration's Justice Department argued that several factors should lead to a reduced sentence.
"Hankison knew that he and his fellow officers had just been fired upon, and one of them had been hit," the DOJ wrote in a filing on Thursday. "Although his response in these fraught circumstances was unreasonable given the benefit of hindsight, that unreasonable response did not kill or wound Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, her neighbors, defendant’s fellow officers, or anyone else."
Some officials in Louisville were outraged by the Justice Department's filing.
"One day in prison for a lifetime of moments Breonna Taylor’s family will never share with her is a devastating slap in the face," said Louisville Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright. "Brett Hankison was not acting alone the night Breonna was killed. His actions—and those of others—led not only to the loss of Breonna’s life but to the permanent emotional and psychological harm inflicted on Kenneth Walker. Their civil and human rights were violated in the most intimate and terrifying way: in their own home."
