A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during the botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead.
The 12-member jury returned the late night verdict after clearing Brett Hankison earlier in the evening on a charge that he used excessive force on Taylor’s neighbors, but elected to continue to deliberate on the second charge.
Some members of the jury were in tears as the verdict was read around 9:30 p.m. Friday. They had earlier indicated to the judge in two separate messages that they were deadlocked on the charge of using excessive force Taylor but chose to continue deliberating. The six man, six woman jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days.
Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, celebrated the verdict with friends outside the federal courthouse, saying: “It took a lot of time. It took a lot of patience. It was hard. The jurors took their time to really understand that Breonna deserved justice.”
Dylan Lovan / AP
Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid, but didn’t hit anyone. Some shots flew into a next-door neighbor’s adjoining apartment.
“Today, Brett Hankison was found guilty by a jury of his peers for willfully depriving Breonna Taylor of her constitutional rights,” said Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement. “His use of deadly force was unlawful and put Ms. Taylor in harm’s way. This verdict is an important step toward accountability for the violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but justice for the loss of Ms. Taylor is a task that exceeds human capacity.”
The conviction against Hankison carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for March 12.
This was the second attempt to convict Hankison on two charges alleging the shots he fired during the raid violated the civil rights of 26-year-old Taylor and her neighbors. Last year, a federal judge declared a mistrial after jurors failed to…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Home – CBSNews.com…