Trial of ex-officer Brett Hankison in Breonna Taylor death ends with hung jury: What's next

The federal trial weighing whether former Louisville Metro Police Detective Brett Hankison violated the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend and three neighbors during the police raid when she was killed has ended in a mistrial with a deadlocked jury. 

The announcement came at the end of the third full day of jury deliberations. The trial lasted about three weeks, with jurors hearing testimony from around two dozen witnesses. Federal prosecutors have not yet said whether they plan to retry Hankison. 

The length of deliberations, lasting over days, represented a sharp contrast to the three hours it took for a jury to acquit Hankison last year on state charges related to the shooting.

During federal deliberations, the jury asked a few questions, including a request for the court transcript. That request was denied, with the judge instructing the jury to instead rely on their memory. The jury sent a note Thursday saying members were at an impasse and asking what would happen if they could not make a unanimous decision. Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings issued an Allen charge, which urged the jury to reach a verdict. 

A few hours later, the jury reaffirmed their split stance. The jury appears to be made of one Black man, five white men and six white women.

How we got here

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician, was inside her South End apartment when she was fatally shot by plainclothes officers attempting to serve a search warrant at 12:40 a.m. March 13, 2020, as a part of a botched narcotics investigation.

Though seven officers were on scene to serve the warrant, only three fired their guns: Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, Detective Myles Cosgrove and Hankison. They fired a combined 32 rounds throughout the apartment, but Hankison fired 10 bullets through a covered sliding-glass door and window.

The government accused Hankison of using excessive force while his defense team argued the former LMPD detective's actions were justified based on his perception that he was saving his fellow officers' lives.

In March 2022, Hankison was found not guilty on state charges of wanton endangerment related to the shooting and has since had those criminal charges expunged.

Hankison is one of four people federally charged in connection to the raid on Taylor's apartment. The others are former LMPD Officers Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Goodlett and Kyle Meany.

Meany and Jaynes have been charged with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses related to preparing and approving a false search warrant.

Goodlett was charged with one count of conspiring with Jaynes to falsify the search warrant for Taylor’s home and to cover up their actions. In August 2022, she pleaded guilty to that charge.

She is expected to be a star witness at the trial of two of her ex-colleagues, Jaynes and Meany.

What's next?

In a mistrial, the defendant is neither convicted or acquitted. The prosecution can decide to retry the case, with the same charges and a different jury, but it is up to the prosecutor's discretion.

This story will be updated.