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Ex-police detective is on trial again for violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights

MICHEL MARITN, HOST:

Closing arguments are expected today in the second trial of former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison. He is charged with two felonies in the death of Breonna Taylor for depriving her of her civil rights and those of her neighbor during a botched police raid at her apartment in 2020. His first trial last November ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a verdict. This shooting, along with the police killing of George Floyd, triggered a national outcry over police violence, particularly against Black people. Giselle Rhoden with Louisville Public Media has been following the trial, and she's with us now. Good morning, Giselle.

GISELLE RHODEN, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.

MARTIN: Hankison testified in his own defense yesterday. What did he say?

RHODEN: Well, Michel, we heard what happened on March 13, 2020, from his perspective. He said that he was called by fellow officers to help execute a search warrant at Taylor's apartment. Hankison was there when police broke down the front door. And we know that Taylor's boyfriend fired a single shot at officers because he thought they were intruders. His shot hit an officer in the leg, and then police returned fire, shooting a total of 32 times and killing Taylor. While all this is happening, Hankison testified that he thought he saw a man with a rifle in the apartment shooting at officers.

MARTIN: So what did he do then?

RHODEN: So he testified that he went to the other side of the apartment to find a better shot. That rifle he said he thought he saw - police investigators would later say they never found a long gun in the home. Hankison cried on the stand when he said he thought his fellow officers were getting killed. Hankison said he fired 10 shots through a covered sliding glass door and a bedroom window from outside the apartment, but none of those struck Taylor. Some of his bullets, however, entered a neighboring apartment. Hankison said he decided to shoot through the building to protect his fellow officers, even though he couldn't see exactly what he was shooting at.

MARTIN: So as we mentioned, this is the second time the U.S. Justice Department has tried Hankison for violating Taylor's civil rights. What makes this trial different from the last one?

RHODEN: Well, last time, the prosecution had several other Louisville Metro Police officers testify to how dangerous Hankison's actions were the night of the raid. But in this trial, those same officers testified again but added not only did Hankison's actions endanger the people in the surrounding area, but they said he also put his fellow officers at risk. And prosecutors said Hankison went against police protocol since he couldn't identify what he was shooting at. And several of the officers testified that they were shocked and even confused when one of their fellow officers shot through the apartment allegedly without using target identification.

In that other apartment was a pregnant woman, her boyfriend and her 5-year-old son. Also different in this case? Hankison's defense attorneys added a new witness. They called James Borden. It's a police shootings expert. He analyzed what Hankison did the night of the raid. Borden said yesterday that Hankison's actions were reasonable, considering that an officer had been shot and someone had a weapon in the apartment.

MARTIN: So what is next in this case?

RHODEN: Well, Hankison will be back on the stand later today. Then there may be additional rebuttal testimony, and after that, closing arguments will begin. And the jury will begin deliberating. In Hankison's federal trial last year, it took the jury three days to deliberate. And the judge declared a mistrial because jurors couldn't reach a unanimous decision. If Hankison's convicted this time, he could face a maximum life sentence in prison. And he would be the second officer convicted in this police raid. Like last time, most of Breonna Taylor's family has been in court every day for testimony.

MARTIN: That is Giselle Rhoden with Louisville Public Media. Giselle, thank you.

RHODEN: Thank you, Michel.

(SOUNDBITE OF WILL HARRISON'S "RELUCTANT SOLDIER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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Giselle Rhoden
Michel Martin
Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered and host of the Consider This Saturday podcast, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.