Federal trial begins for former officer accused in death of Breonna Taylor

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    LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WLKY) — Former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison has already been acquitted of state charges involving the death of Breonna Taylor, but his federal trial starts Monday.

Hankison is charged with violating the civil rights of Taylor and others during a 2020 apartment raid that left her fatally shot.

He is also accused of unconstitutional, excessive force after prosecutors say he blindly fired shots into Taylor’s and a neighboring apartment.

The court was in session Monday morning before entering recess.

During the morning, 44 potential jurors showed up from which 16 will be selected for the the jury.

So far, one juror has been excused for issues related to school, and the attorneys and judge plan to discuss excusing another who is a retired LMPD officer.

Once court resumes, some of the jurors will be called back to court for individual questioning.

Hankison and other officers were attempting to execute a search warrant on Taylor’s apartment as part of a drug investigation.

That shooting, followed less than three months later by the Minneapolis Police killing of George Floyd, helped spark social justice demonstrations across the country.

Former LMPD Detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty in August of 2022 to federal charges of falsifying a search warrant and trying to cover up the circumstances of what happened.

Two other former officers, Kyle Meany and Joshua Jaynes, still face similar federal charges.

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