The United States(US) Department of Justice has requested a significantly lighter sentence for former police officer Brett Hankison, who was involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor in March 2020.
According to the Department of Justice, Hankison should receive a prison term of one day, plus three years of supervised release. This recommendation marks a stark reversal for the prosecution, which began under former President Joe Biden and continued under current President Donald Trump.
The incident occurred when plainclothes officers arrived at Taylor’s apartment, executing a no-knock warrant based on faulty evidence. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, believing they were targets of a home invasion, shot at the suspected intruders in self-defense.
Police officers returned fire, and approximately 22 bullets were fired into the apartment, several of which hit Taylor, killing her. Hankison fired 10 more shots into the apartment through a window and sliding glass door, both covered by curtains and blinds, without seeing inside.
Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee serving as assistant attorney general for civil rights, submitted a court memorandum reflecting the government’s new stance. Dhillon argued that Hankison should not be confined to prison, citing his lack of prior criminal history before November 2024, when a federal jury found him guilty of using excessive force in violation of Taylor’s civil rights. Dhillon wrote that these facts “demonstrate that there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from the defendant”.
The recommendation has sparked outrage, with critics blasting it as disregard for the will of the jury and Taylor’s life. US Representative Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat whose district includes Louisville, Kentucky, where Taylor was shot, wrote that “The fact that Donald Trump’s DOJ thinks Breonna Taylor’s life is worth just a one-day jail sentence is morally reprehensible and deeply insulting”.
Civil rights lawyers representing Taylor’s family, including Ben Crump, denounced Dhillon’s sentencing recommendations as farcical, stating that “This recommendation is an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury’s decision. Every American who believes in equal justice under the law should be outraged”.
The case highlights the ongoing debate over police force and accountability in the US. The Trump administration has rolled back federal agreements with police departments found to have committed civil rights violations, including one pertaining to Louisville. Dhillon previously called these reform agreements an example of “federal micromanagement”. Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for his role in Taylor’s death.