Federal judge denies Brett Hankison's bid to delay reporting to prison in Breonna Taylor case

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – A federal judge denied former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison’s motion for an appeal bond that would keep him from having to turn himself in on Thursday to serve his 33-month prison sentence for using excessive force and violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor.

In an order on Monday, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings ruled “a jury has spoken and this Court cannot and will not disturb its verdict without legal reason.

"The Court finds that Hankison has failed to satisfy his burden to demonstrate that he has raised substantial questions regarding sufficiency of the evidence for conviction."

In addition, the judge said the recent motion to postpone the report date from the Bureau of Prisons be postponed 60 to 90 days while Hankison appeals his conviction to a higher court came too late and without substantial evidence.

“Given the already considerably below guideline sentence based on the jury’s verdict, and the lack of substantial, close call, or material questions, the Court denies the motion and issues this opinion resolving the Hankison’s request for bond pending appeal,” the judge ruled.

The ruling came despite the U.S. Department of Justice not opposing Hankison's request to remain out of prison on bond while his conviction is under appeal.

In fact, the DOJ under President Donald Trump already had filed its own motion asking to postpone Hankison’s prison sentence and also criticized the handling of Hankison's case by previous prosecutors.

Jennings ruling, in effect, means Hankison should be imprisoned this week.

"Despite his low risk of flight or danger to others, Hankison has failed to demonstrate a substantial question of law or fact material to his appeal justifying bond," the judge ruled.

In November, a federal jury found Hankison guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights during a March 13, 2020, police raid of her home when he fired 10 shots into her apartment through a sliding glass door and window that were covered by blinds.

The shots nearly hit her and an officer as well as ripping through the wall into a neighboring apartment where a family and a child were sleeping.

The jury found Hankison not guilty of violating the civil rights of Taylor's neighbors.

The Department of Justice under President Donald Trump has criticized the handling of Hankison's case by previous prosecutors and had asked Jennings to sentence him to one day of incarceration – already served when he was booked – and a three-year term of supervision.

But Jennings ruled July 21 that she was "troubled" by the DOJ's "180-degree-turn" in the months after a jury convicted Hankison in November.

She sentenced Hankison to 33-months in prison but allowed him to remain free on bond – ruling he was not a flight risk or danger to the community - until the U.S. Bureau of Prisons finds the right place to put him and decide when he should turn himself in.

That day is Oct. 9, according to court records. Taylor’s family has complained about the slow pace of the case since the sentencing and spoken in and outside the court about the shift in attitude from the DOJ.

When police burst into Taylor's apartment, Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, fired a shot that hit former officer John Mattingly in the leg. Multiple Louisville Metro Police officers returned fire, killing 26-year-old Taylor. No drugs were found in her home.

Both the DOJ and Hankinson's attorneys argued at his sentencing that Walker provoked the reaction from police by firing on them. Walker has said he believed the couple were being robbed.

In a statement before he was sentenced, Hankison, 49, apologized to the Taylor family and her friends and said, with hindsight, knowing what he knows now, "I never would have fired my gun."

This story will be updated.

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