LOUISIVLLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Attorneys for former Louisville Metro Police Officer Brett Hankison, who was found guilty of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor in a botched police raid of her home in 2020, are making a "desperate" attempt for a new trial using "baseless" claims, prosecutors say.
On Nov. 1, a jury acquitted Hankison of violating the civil rights of Taylor's neighbors but guilty of using excessive force in violating Taylor's civil rights, a conviction that carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Last month, Hankison's attorneys accused prosecutors of "misconduct" in court documents requesting a new trial, arguing, in part, that the prosecution misled jurors using facts that weren't in evidence and violated court orders.
Prosecutors "outright misstated evidence in the record" during closing arguments, according to the defense, and disregarded orders from the judge on specific information that could be presented.
But in a response Friday, prosecutors said the defense never objected "to any of the supposedly improper statements during trial, and none are objectionable. Rather, the government fairly characterized and properly drew inferences from the strong evidence of the defendant's guilt."
And the prosecution called the claims of misconduct "particularly outrageous," arguing instead that Hankison's attorneys made several improper statements to the jury, including mentioning the civil lawsuit in the Taylor case and "inexplicably invoking the U.S. presidential election."
The motions filed by Hankison's attorneys in U.S. District Court also argued that prosecutors said there were no drug activities occurring in Taylor's home, but they knew and did not mention that an examination of Taylor's boyfriend's phone showed he was "clearly trafficking in marijuana and prescription medication. The report contained communications between other parties confirming (Kenneth) Walker's drug trade."
In their response, prosecutors argued there is no evidence in the case presented to jurors showing Walker was involved in the drug trade and, even if true, would be prohibited because it was "inflammatory and irrelevant."
When police burst in on March 13, 2020, Walker, fired a shot that hit Sgt. John Mattingly in the leg. Walker has said he believed the couple were being robbed.
Attorneys for Hankison have also asked talk to the jury in the trial, as "several jurors were observed crying and showing obvious emotion" before the verdict.
They want to interview jurors regarding any "external or unlawful influences to which any juror may have been exposed," according to their motion.
The judge has previously ordered no one to talk to the jurors about the case, citing a local court rule.
The prosecution says no reason exists for the judge to change her order as there is "no hint that any juror was improperly contacted or pressured during trial, or that the jury's deliberations were infected by any outside information."
A third motion by the defense requests U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings dismiss the guilty verdict because prosecutors failed to prove that Taylor was alive at the time Hankinson fired through the bedroom window, "let alone that Ms. Taylor was conscious and her movement was somehow restrained by Brett Hankinson."
Former Detective John Mattingly and former Officer Myles Cosgrove shot Taylor.
But in Friday's motion, prosecutors pointed out that jurors heard this argument during the trial and rejected it.
"Importantly, the jury only had to find that Ms. Taylor was alive for a few seconds after officers breached her door to find that she was alive when the defendant shot at her," according to the court filing.
A date to argue the motions in court has not been scheduled.
The judge, not the jury, will decide Hankison's sentence on March 12.
The trial centered around Hankison firing 10 times from outside Taylor's apartment through a covered sliding glass door and blinded windows in Taylor's bedroom window, with three bullets flying into an adjacent apartment where Cody Etherton, Chelsey Napper and her 5-year-old child lived.
Hankison also nearly hit Taylor and a fellow police officer.
He was the only officer charged for his actions during the raid. Three other officers were charged with their role in the search warrant affidavit, which included false information. No trial date has been set.
The charges stem from a March 13, 2020, raid of Taylor's home in the middle of the night, in which police officers busted down her door to serve a search warrant related to a drug dealer who lived 10 miles away.
Police sought out a search warrant for Taylor's home as part of a broader investigation that focused on drug suspect Jamarcus Glover. Police believed Glover may have been using Taylor's apartment to receive drugs and store money.
When police burst in, Walker, fired a shot that hit Mattingly in the leg.
Multiple Louisville Metro Police officers returned fire, killing 26-year-old Taylor. No drugs were found in her home.
Her death, along with George Floyd's, resulted in months of protests in Louisville and across the country over police brutality and racial discrimination.
This was Hankison's third trial in total related to his actions the night of the raid. A federal jury last year deadlocked in November on the two counts of civil rights violations.
A state Jefferson Circuit Court jury in March 2022 found Hankison not guilty on three counts of wanton endangerment.
Brett Hankison Coverage:
- Brett Hankison's attorneys request new trial in Breonna Taylor case
- One-on-one | LMPD chief talks about former detective's conviction, police reform, public safety
- Jury finds LMPD detective Brett Hankison guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights
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