The U.S. Department of Justice is recommending that former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison, convicted of violating Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, serve just one day in jail.
Hankison, who was part of the 2020 police raid that resulted in Taylor’s death, was found guilty last year of firing blindly through a window and sliding glass door into Taylor’s apartment. His shots didn’t strike Taylor directly, but they did pierce into a neighboring unit, where a family was inside, including a pregnant woman and a child.
Despite the gravity of the incident, the DOJ has requested a sentence of time served, meaning Hankison wouldn’t spend another day behind bars. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday.
DOJ’s Argument for Leniency
In a court filing Wednesday, the DOJ acknowledged that Hankison was part of the team that executed the botched no-knock warrant, but emphasized that he “did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death.” The filing also claimed that the conviction, while notable, should be weighed against the fact that Hankison’s shots physically injured no one, and that such a prosecution is rare.
“Counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone,” prosecutors wrote.
Alongside the recommended one-day sentence, the DOJ also proposed three years of supervised release.
But there’s a major caveat that’s drawn even more scrutiny: the sentencing request wasn’t signed by the usual trial lawyers or career prosecutors. Instead, it was signed by Trump-appointed Civil Rights Division chief Harmeet Dhillon and another senior political appointee.
Outrage from Taylor’s Family and Legal Team
Taylor’s family and their legal representatives quickly responded. Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, along with attorneys Lonita Baker and Sam Aguiar, called the DOJ’s recommendation “an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury’s decision,” they said in a joint statement.
“Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that White officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.”
They also warned that this kind of leniency sets a dangerous precedent, one that further erodes public trust in the justice system, especially in cases involving police violence against Black people.
Hankison’s Legal Journey
Hankison’s case has been legally tangled from the start. He was fired from the Louisville Metro Police Department in June 2020, months after the fatal raid. He was later acquitted in a state trial related to wanton endangerment and went through two federal trials before being convicted on a single civil rights count.
Prosecutors acknowledged the lengthy process in their filing, noting that “two federal trials were ultimately necessary to obtain a unanimous verdict.” They added that the conviction alone “will almost certainly ensure that Defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again.”
Hankison’s defense team also argued for leniency, saying that the former officer has already endured “intense media scrutiny” and faces safety risks because of his identity as a former cop tied to a nationally recognized case.
The Bigger Picture
Breonna Taylor’s death became one of the central flashpoints of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, symbolizing the broader national reckoning around police violence and racial injustice. While the DOJ’s civil rights charges against Hankison were initially seen as a step toward accountability, the latest sentencing recommendation threatens to reopen old wounds and deepen public skepticism.
As the sentencing date approaches, all eyes will be on Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings. Whether or not she follows the DOJ’s recommendation could shape the narrative around justice and accountability in one of the most consequential cases of the decade.
For many, one day in jail feels like one more reminder of a system that rarely delivers justice, especially when the victim is Black.
