LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It's been more than four years since her daughter's death, and Tamika Palmer says she can finally rest.
After a federal jury found former Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) detective Brett Hankison guilty of violating her daughter Breonna Taylor's civil rights, she said she felt grateful to God.
Now, in a sit-down interview with WHAS11, Palmer says she's feeling a 'new-found purpose.'
"It was different. I had air in my lungs. I felt like times were changing," Palmer said, describing her first night's sleep after the guilty verdict.
Palmer has watched all three of Hankison's criminal trials from up close in the courtroom, since officers shot and killed Taylor in March of 2020. The first was an acquittal in Jefferson Circuit Court. The second was a mistrial on federal charges.
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This time, she heard the words 'guilty.'
"I started crying. But this time my cry was different," Palmer said.
Jurors unanimously agreed Hankison used excessive force when he fired 10 shots into the side of Taylor's apartment during the raid on her home four years ago, though none of his bullets hit her.
At the same time, a jury that was deadlocked for several hours also found Hankison not guilty of violating the civil rights of Taylor's neighbors.
In WHAS11's exclusive video after the verdict, Hankison was seen walking out of the courthouse with his attorney, Jack Byrd, telling us, "we have no comment."
Hankison, with no prior criminal history, remains out on bond until his sentencing on March 12, when he'll face a maximum of life in prison.
"It's very hard because we all know, had it been anybody else, they would have been walked right out of that courtroom to jail. So you know, it's hard to watch, but you know what's to come," Palmer said. "I think coming up on five years, he'll wake up on March 13 in prison, and I'm okay with that."
With Hankison's fate decided, the federal trials of his former colleagues, ex-LMPD officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, are up next -- charged for their role in the search warrant that led to Taylor's home.
When asked whether Hankison's conviction has strengthened her resolve when it comes to these cases, Palmer responded, "Absolutely."
I think this thing has recharged me. It's given me more energy. These last few days, I haven't had to roll out of the bed. I feel like I have a new found purpose," she said.
In a message for Taylor, from mother to daughter, Palmer said, "I'm sorry this even happened, and I'm sorry it took so long."
Legal experts we've talked to say they don't expect Hankison to get life in prison because of his lack of prior criminal history. How long he gets is fully up to Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings.
Sentencing is set for March 12, nearly five years to the day after the Breonna Taylor raid.
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