![]() ![]() "He did what he thought he had to do in that instant. ![]() Asked if he did anything wrong that night, he said "absolutely not." Hankison was fired by Louisville Police for shooting blindly during the raid.ĭefense attorney Stewart Mathews told the jury in his closing argument Thursday that Hankison thought he was doing the right thing and is not a criminal who belongs in prison. The former narcotics detective admitted to firing through Taylor's patio doors and bedroom window, but said he did so to save his fellow officers. She said while other officers were in the line of fire of a single shot fired by Taylor's boyfriend, Hankison was "over here, shooting wildly through sliding-glass doors covered with vertical blinds and drapes." All the shells from his weapon were found in the parking lot, among a row of cars. Whaley also reminded the jury that none of the other officers who testified recalled Hankison being in the doorway before the gunfire began. Referring to Taylor she added, "His wanton conduct could have multiplied her death by three, easily." "He was never in the doorway," Whaley told the jury. Hankison, 45, testified during the trial that he saw a muzzle flash from Taylor's darkened hallway after police burst through the door and thought officers were under heavy fire, so he quickly wheeled around a corner and sprayed 10 bullets, hoping to end the threat.īut in closing arguments Thursday, prosecutors cast doubt on what Hankison said he saw, challenging whether he could have looked through Taylor's front door when police broke it open with a battering ram. Taylor's mother, Tamika Palmer, and a group of friends and family left without commenting after the verdict. "Īssistant Kentucky Attorney General Barbara Maines Whaley said she respected the jury's verdict but had no further comment. The jury felt like you go out and peform your duty and your brother officer gets shot, you got a right to defend yourself. Hankison did not appear outside the courtroom after the verdict was read, but his attorney Stewart Mathews said he and his client were "thrilled." Former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison is questioned by his defense attorney Wednesday, March 2, 2022, in Louisville, Kentucky.Īsked what might have swayed the jury, Mathews replied, "I think it was absolutely the fact that he was doing his job as a police officer. Hankison's attorneys never contested the ballistics evidence, but said he fired 10 bullets because he thought his fellow officers were "being executed." Hankison had been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing through sliding-glass side doors and a window of Taylor's apartment during the raid that left the 26-year-old Black woman dead. ![]()
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