The Justice Department’s civil rights chief has requested that a federal judge impose a sentence of one day in jail on a Louisville police officer convicted in the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor, marking a significant shift from previous Biden administration policies aimed at addressing racial disparities in law enforcement.
Last year, a federal jury in Kentucky found Brett Hankison guilty of violating Ms. Taylor’s civil rights by firing multiple shots through her window during a flawed drug raid.
Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and is set to be sentenced next week.
On Wednesday, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, urged the judge to consider time already served for Hankison, along with an additional one day in prison and three years of supervised release.
In her filing, Dhillon argued that the prosecution was excessive, noting that the Biden Justice Department had secured a conviction after Hankison had previously been acquitted on state charges and his initial federal trial ended in mistrial.
“In this case, two federal trials were ultimately necessary to obtain a unanimous verdict of guilt,” Dhillon stated, emphasizing that Hankison, a felon who was dismissed from his position five years ago, had already faced significant consequences for his actions.
She added, “The jury’s verdict will almost certainly ensure that Defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again and will also likely ensure that he never legally possesses a firearm again.”
This type of request is usually made by career prosecutors involved in the case; however, Wednesday’s motion was signed by Dhillon, a political appointee with strong ties to the Republican Party and former President Trump, along with one of her deputies.