Louisville police to fire officer involved in fatal shooting of Black woman
Louisville’s mayor said Friday that one of three police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor will be fired.
Mayor Greg Fischer said interim Louisville police Chief Robert Schroeder has started termination proceedings for Officer Brett Hankison.
Two other officers remain on administrative reassignment while the shooting is investigated. Fischer said officials could not answer questions about the firing because of state law.
Meanwhile, FBI agents went to Taylor’s apartment Friday as part of their independent investigation into her death, FBI officials in Louisville said in a statement.
“When investigating potential civil-rights violations, the FBI will take a fresh look at all the evidence, including interviewing witnesses who have already spoken to the original investigating agency, interviewing witnesses who have not yet spoken to law enforcement and examining all physical and video evidence to better understand what transpired,” the FBI statement said. “Today’s action is part of this process.”
Taylor, who was Black, was shot eight times by officers who burst into her Louisville home using a no-knock warrant during a March 13 narcotics investigation. No drugs were found at her home.
A letter the chief sent to Hankison said the officer violated standard operating procedures when he “wantonly and blindly fired 10 rounds into the apartment of Breonna Taylor.”
The letter says he fired the rounds “without supporting facts” that the deadly force was directed at a person posing an immediate threat.
“In fact, the 10 rounds you fired were into a patio door and window, which were covered with material that completely prevented you from verifying any person as an immediate threat, or more importantly, any innocent persons present,” the letter states.
“I find your conduct a shock to the conscience,” Schroeder said in the letter. “Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the department.”
Sam Aguiar, a lawyer for Taylor’s family, said the move was overdue. “It’s about damn time. It should have happened a long time ago, but thankfully, it’s at least happening now,” Aguiar said. “This is an officer that’s plagued our streets and made this city worse for over a dozen years . ... Let’s hope that this is a start to some good, strong criminal proceedings against Officer Hankison, because he definitely deserves to at least be charged.”
The warrant to search Taylor’s home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there. Police used a no-knock search warrant, which allows them to enter without first announcing their presence.
Louisville’s Metro Council recently voted to ban the use of no-knock warrants.