Cop involved in Breonna Taylor death now fired
Louisville interim chief: ‘I find your conduct a shock to the conscience’
Ky. – Mayor Greg Fischer said Friday that Louisville Metro Police is initiating termination of Officer Brett Hankison, one of three officers to fire weapons at Breonna Taylor’s apartment, which resulted in her death.
Taylor, 26, was shot by officers at her apartment on March 13 as they entered to serve a no-knock warrant. Her boyfriend thought officers were intruders and fired a shot as they entered. Taylor was shot eight times in the ensuing gunfire from officers.
Hankison is accused by the department’s interim chief, Robert Schroeder, of “blindly” firing 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment, creating a substantial danger of death and serious injury.
“I find your conduct a shock to the conscience,” Schroeder wrote in a Friday letter to Hankison laying out the charges against him. “I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion.”
“The result of your action seriously impedes the Department’s goal of providing the citizens of our city with the most professional law enforcement agency possible. I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Metro Police Department,” he added. “Your conduct demands your termination.”
Specifically, Hankison is accused of violating departmental policies on obedience to rules and regulations and use of deadly force. Schroeder, who wrote that he received the investigation results on Tuesday night, noted Hankison was previously cited for reckless conduct and was disciplined in early 2019.
The other two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor’s apartment – Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove – have been placed on administrative reassignment.
Fischer, in a Friday news conference announcing the move, declined to comment further.
“Unfortunately, due to a provision in state law that I would very much like to see changed, both the chief and I are precluded from talking about what brought us to this moment or even the timing of this decision,” Fischer said.
Attorneys representing Hankison in a civil lawsuit and the LMPD investigation looking into his conduct did not immediately respond to Courier Journal requests for comment on Friday.
Ryan Nichols, the president of the River City Fraternal Order of Police chapter representing Louisville Metro Police officers, declined to comment at this time.
Hankison in recent weeks also has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in viral social media posts. The allegations are similar, saying that he offered intoxicated women a ride home from bars before sexually assaulting them.
A spokeswoman for LMPD said last week that the department was “looking into the allegations.”
Sam Aguiar, a Louisville-based attorney for Taylor’s family, said Friday about Hankison’s firing: “It’s about damn time.”
Aguiar told The Courier Journal on Friday that Hankison should have been let go “from Day 1.”
“Maybe, finally, the mayor realized that sometimes you just need to do what the best thing is for the city, and since Day 1, the best thing to do for the city (has been) to take this dirty cop off the payroll and off the streets,” he said.
In a court filing last week, Aguiar alleged that Hankison “could not be located” after the shooting took place.
The document also alleged that Hankison “fired more than 20 shots, the majority of which were fired blindly from outside the home through windows which were covered by shades and blinds.”
Photos of Taylor’s apartment provided by Aguiar show the sliding glass patio door boarded up from the outside. But inside, shards of glass can be seen on the apartment’s carpeted floor, and bullet holes riddle the curtains.
Aguiar said that “following the initial flurry of gunshots, witnesses state that an officer (presumably Hankison) yelled ‘reload’ and then proceeded to fire more into Breonna’s home. Several of Hankison’s rounds went into an adjacent apartment in which a pregnant mother and 5-year-old son were located.”
“There are legitimate concerns regarding LMPD’s propensity to cover up incriminating evidence implicating criminal conduct of Hankison,” Aguiar said in the document.
All three officers were under internal investigation by Louisville Metro Police’s Public Integrity Unit. That investigation has been shared with the FBI and state attorney general, who are expected to conduct additional investigations.
Neither the FBI nor the Kentucky attorney general have announced any criminal charges.
Louisville FBI officials were at Taylor’s apartment on Friday morning executing a search warrant as part of their independent investigation and taking a “fresh look” at the evidence.
Spokesman Tim Beam said the FBI will investigate “all aspects” of Taylor’s death, including interviewing witnesses who have and haven’t already spoken to Louisville Metro Police. They’ll also examine all physical evidence and video evidence to better understand what transpired, he said.
“Today’s action is part of the process,” Beam said.