LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The fate of a former Louisville Metro Police detective will soon lie in the hands of a jury.
Brett Hankison finished up testimony in his own defense Tuesday, which lasted several hours over two days.
On Wednesday, jurors will hear closing arguments and then get the opportunity to begin deliberating a verdict.
Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, if convicted, for allegedly violating the civil rights of Taylor and her neighbors the night he fired 10 shots into her sliding glass door and window during the March 2020 police raid.
But in a last-minute turn of events after resting their case Tuesday, Hankison’s attorneys renewed an argument they originally made when trying to get the charges involving Taylor thrown out.
Defense attorneys have argued former detective Myles Cosgrove’s bullet had already killed Taylor prior to Hankison firing shots, thus he could not have violated her constitutional rights. There’s a chance the jury could hear these points in closing arguments.
However, federal prosecutors have pointed to a 911 call from Taylor’s then-boyfriend Kenneth Walker, who was heard telling her to ‘breathe,’ suggesting it means she was still alive when Hankison fired his gun.
It comes as prosecutors pressed Hankison for much of the day to take accountability, including for putting Cosgrove in danger that night. Earlier in the retrial, Cosgrove testified that Hankison’s actions put him at risk, describing bullets flying close to him.
Prosecutors told Hankison, “You were willing to bet Myles Cosgrove’s life on whether he took one or two steps forward.”
Hankison insisted “the only person my bullet could have struck was the shooter,” saying there was ‘zero risk’ of hitting anyone outside the threat.
Prosecutors grilled Hankison, suggesting he ‘guessed’ where the danger was in Breonna Taylor’s apartment when he fired shots.
On Tuesday, Hankison testified that he identified a threat when he saw muzzle flashes lighting up the home, saying, “I had a split-second decision to do nothing and watch people die, or shoot back and stop the threat.”
Attorney Nick Mudd of Mudd Legal Group isn’t involved in this case, but has followed Hankison’s trials. WHAS11 asked him about where things stand as the jury prepares to get the case.
“It's something that the jury, you know, they'll think about: What would they do in that position if they were being fired on?” Mudd said. “Would they just stand there if they see their partner getting hit? Would they just stand there and not fire back? I think that's going to be something that will be weighed heavily in the jury room.”
Hankison, in a shift from his last federal trial, pushed back on more of prosecutors’ arguments, even changing some of his testimony.
Nearly a year ago, he acknowledged an AR-15 style rifle was not involved in this incident.
Now, Hankison testified, “I can’t agree with that.”
Hankison has said he believed his officers were being executed, evidenced by the bright muzzle flashes lighting up the home. He’s said at the time officers knocked down Taylor’s door, he claims he saw someone with a rifle in a military shooting stance.
Investigators never found a rifle on scene, but later did find two long-rifle shell casings in and near Taylor’s apartment.
During a break from testimony, WHAS11 asked Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor’s mother, how she felt seeing Hankison on the stand again.
She said, “Irritated. [He has] no regard for anybody – officers or the other people. He doesn’t want to take any accountability.”
The jury isn’t simply weighing a policy violation. Jurors must determine whether Hankison knew the danger of firing his weapon, and willfully did it anyway.
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