LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Lawyers in the trial of a former Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) officer involved in the deadly raid that left Breonna Taylor dead returned to court Tuesday to finish an extended jury selection process.
By Tuesday evening, the court narrowed down a pool of 48 potential jurors to 15 people, 12 jurors and three alternates to decide the case.
Brett Hankison, who is charged with wanton endangerment for shooting into the apartment of one of Taylor's neighbors on the night of the March 2020 raid. He was fired a few months later.
Hankison, whose shots did not hit Taylor, is the only officer charged in the case. None have been charged in connection to Taylor's death.
Court officials initially gathered an expanded pool of 250 potential jurors, to account for the widespread publicity in Taylor's death, which sparked months of marches and protests in downtown Louisville in the summer of 2020.
After four days of questioning potential jurors on their knowledge and beliefs about Hankison's case, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed on a pool of 48 to choose the final jury from.
Tuesday, the potential jurors were questioned in two groups. One juror in the afternoon did not come to court and the questioning continued without him. Attorneys focused their questioning on the availability of the potential jurors as well as the victims and witnesses involved in the case.
Prosecutors from the Attorney General's office read a list of 30 witnesses who will take the stand during the trial. Some notable names include former LMPD Chief Steve Conrad, who was in charge of the police department in March 2020, as well as Det. Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. John Mattingly, the two officers present on the night of the shooting.
Mattingly has filed a motion, saying he plans to invoke his 5th Amendment right to not speak as a defendant in Hankison's trial.
The potential jurors were told that they would be taken to visit the apartment complex on Springfield Dr. where Breonna Taylor was killed and where Hankison is accused of firing shots in an apartment next door.
Eight jurors were chosen from a group in the afternoon. Seven from a morning group were called Tuesday evening, to be notified they were selected for the jury.
Opening statements are expected Wednesday morning.
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