LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jury selection begins Tuesday morning in the federal retrial of a former Louisville Metro Police officer charged for his actions the night police killed Breonna Taylor.

Brett Hankison faces federal charges, accused of civil rights violations and excessive force during the raid on Taylor's apartment in March 2020, when police executed a search warrant as part of a drug investigation.

Kenneth Walker, Taylor's boyfriend, maintains that he thought the couple was being robbed and fired a single shot, hitting former LMPD Sgt. John Mattingly in the leg. Police returned fire, killing Taylor. There is no body camera footage of the shooting itself, just the moments after it.

Prosecutors allege Hankison fired blindly from outside a window into Taylor's apartment during the raid, with some of those rounds going into neighboring apartments. 

Hankison did not shoot Taylor. He said he saw someone inside holding a gun he was "certain" was an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. No rifle was found at the scene. The former officer says he shot because he thought other officers on the scene were being executed.

This is the third time Hankison will stand trial related to his actions the night of the Taylor raid. He was acquitted of state charges in 2022, and a prior federal case was dismissed when the jury couldn't reach a verdict.

The new trial is expected to last two to three weeks. The judge will summons 150 potential jurors and seat 16, including four alternates who will be dismissed before deliberations. That means only 12 will decide Hankison's fate.

Jury selection is expected to last several days, and will happen entirely behind closed doors to protect the identities of potential jurors.

Hankison faces life in prison without parole if convicted of the most serious charges against him.

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