Louisville cop in Taylor shooting may not be fired
Officer has due process rights before termination
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville’s interim police chief took a first step toward firing Officer Brett Hankison on Friday, but that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen.
Before the chief’s decision becomes official, he will sit down with Hankison and his legal counsel for a “pre-termination hearing,” where Hankison can respond to allegations and make a case for a lesser punishment in the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old African American woman who was fatally shot March 13 as police entered to serve a noknock warrant at her apartment.
And even after the chief makes a final decision, there are due process rights granted to police officers under Kentucky
state law and the collective bargaining agreement between the police union and city that lay out specific procedures and rights to appeal.
Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder’s letter to Hankison on Friday notified him of the chief ’s intent to terminate his employment.
The letter laid out the charges that form the basis of that decision, accusing Hankison of “blindly” firing 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment and creating a “substantial danger of death and serious injury.”
Specifically, he wrote that Hankison’s actions displayed an “extreme indifference to the value of human life” and that he failed to verify anyone was an immediate threat or if there were any innocent people present when he fired his weapon from outside Taylor’s apartment into a patio door and windows with curtains.
Hankison will have a chance to respond to the allegations in the pre-termination hearing, where he and his lawyer will be permitted to make a case as to why he shouldn’t be fired.
That’s expected to take place soon, said attorney David Leightty, who will represent Hankison in that meeting.
After that, Schroeder will issue a final decision. Only then would Hankison’s termination become official, should that be the chief’s decision.
If the chief’s decision is to dismiss, demote or suspend him for more than 40 hours, then Hankison would have the right to request a hearing from the Police Merit Board.
That request would have to be made in writing within 10 days of Schroeder’s ruling.
Under state law, the merit board has five members appointed by the mayor and approved by Metro Council, who serve four-year terms. The board is tasked with reviewing police applicants and setting rules around promotions, qualifications and discipline for officers.
It also can review the chief ’s disciplinary decisions, determining whether the action was “unjustified or unsupported by proper evidence.”
Any hearing would be open to the public, and the merit board could consider only evidence presented there. If it determines the action was unjustified, it can set aside the chief’s order and create a new penalty.
Mark Dobbins, an attorney for the merit board, said Friday that in many past cases, officers who have criminal matters pending will ask for the merit board proceeding to be held “in abeyance,” meaning delayed until the resolution of the criminal case.
So the hearing could be on hold until after a decision on criminal charges is made by the state attorney general and U.S. Department of Justice, and until after any future cases are resolved.