LOUISIVLLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison testified during his violation of civil rights trial Monday that he believed someone in Breonna Taylor's apartment had an assault rifle and his fellow officers were "sitting ducks" who were being "executed."
On the fifth day of testimony, Hankison told jurors he had no doubt officers were in danger as he had already seen former Sgt. John Mattingly shot when police burst through Taylor's door to serve a warrant and he saw a "large muzzle flash" he believed was coming from an assault rifle.
"I saw those windows and doors lighting up like a dance club," Hankison testified. "I know that John is down in the hallway."
Hankison is expected to be the last witness for the defense, with closing arguments starting as early as Tuesday. He will continue testifying in the morning.
The former detective fired five shots into Taylor's living room from outside through blinded sliding glass door during the March 13, 2020, raid. He fired five more shots through a bedroom window that was covered by curtains. Three of the bullets flew into an adjacent apartment where Cody Etherton, Chelsey Napper and her then-5-year-old child lived.
Prosecutors have hammered away that Hankison could not see anything he was shooting at, and other officers have criticized Hankison for putting their lives and those of citizens at risk.
The current police chief has also testified that Hankison violated LMPD policy.
But Hankison testified he saw lights and believed he knew where the shooter was by the sound of the shots and where he was when police first entered the apartment.
When police burst into Taylor's home, Hankison said it was "pure darkness" before there was a muzzle flash and he saw the silhouette of a large man holding a weapon in a shooting stance at the end of a hallway.
After Mattingly was shot, Hankison retreated and heard what sounded like a "gun battle." Hankison became emotional a few times when talking about Mattingly being shot. The bullet missed Hankison by only 12 to 18 inches, he said.
He believed the shots were getting closer to police and the gunman was walking down the hallway toward the officers, who he believed were outgunned. He said he heard Mattingly say, "I'm down."
"I fired five rounds" through the sliding glass doors where he believed the shooter was, Hankison said.
But the shooting continued so Hankison fired five more rounds through Taylor's bedroom window. The shooting stopped, Hankison said.
"Those five rounds appeared to be effective," he said.
In actuality, Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, had fired one shot from a handgun, believing the couple were being robbed. He also did not advance towards officers. Police were trying to serve a search warrant as part of a larger drug investigation.
The charges stem from the botched 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.
When police burst in, Walker fired a shot that hit Mattingly in the leg. Multiple LMPD officers returned fire, shooting 32 times, killing Taylor, 26. No drugs were found in her home.
The jury is made up of eight men and seven women. There is one Black juror. Three alternates will be removed at random before the jury begins deliberation.
In 2020, 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.
This is Hankison's third trial related to his actions the night of the raid. A federal jury in November 2023 deadlocked on two counts of civil rights violations and using excessive force.
A state Jefferson Circuit Court jury in March 2022 found Hankison not guilty on three counts of wanton endangerment.
Walker fired one shot with a handgun. There was no rifle found in the home.
Hankison was indicted in August 2022 on two charges of deprivation of rights for firing into a bedroom window in Taylor's apartment that was covered with blinds and a blackout curtain after "there was no longer a lawful objective justifying the use of deadly force," according to the indictment.
If convicted, Hankison faces a possible maximum sentence of life in prison.
Asked if he thought his shots were a danger to anyone else in Taylor's apartment besides the shooter, he said he believed there was "zero" risk. In the police briefing before the raid, officers were told only Taylor would be in the apartment, he said.
He also said he believed his shots caused "zero" risk to other officers and police are trained to get out of a "fatal funnel," the small hallway where officers were being shot at.
Earlier in the day, Mattingly testified that he was "initially confused" by Hankison's actions.
"I had questions too," he said. But after talking with Hankison a few months after the shooting, Mattingly testified he would have done the same thing.
"Our whole job is to preserve and safe life," said Mattingly, who acknowledged he was friends with Hankison and had helped raise money for his legal bills.
This story will be updated.
Brett Hankison Trial Coverage:
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