Overview

• Brett Hankison, convicted in November 2024 of civil rights violations for firing into Breonna Taylor’s apartment during a no-knock raid, received a 33-month prison term and three years of supervised release on July 21.
• Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings dismissed the Justice Department’s one-day sentence recommendation as unconvincing after it was signed by Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.
• The DOJ had argued that Hankison posed no threat to the public, a stance that Taylor’s family and civil rights lawyers labeled an insult and dangerous for future accountability.
• Hankison remains the sole officer held criminally responsible for the flawed narcotics raid that claimed Taylor’s life, emphasizing gaps in legal accountability for law enforcement.
• Family members and Black Lives Matter advocates are renewing calls for systemic reform to prevent deadly warrant practices and strengthen civil rights protections.