Breonna Taylor shooting: Louisville mayor announces firing of police officer
06/19/2020 11:29 am PDT
via Louisville Courier Journal:
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Courier-Journal) -- Mayor Greg Fischer announced Friday that the Louisville Metro Police Dept. is initiating termination of Officer Brett Hankison, one of three LMPD officers to fire weapons on March 13 at Breonna Taylor's apartment, killing her.
Hankison is accused by the department's interim chief, Robert Schroeder, of "blindly" firing 10 rounds into Taylor's apartment, creating a substantial danger of death and serious injury.
Hankison is accused of violating departmental policies on obedience to rules and regulations and use of deadly force. Schroeder notes Hankison was previously disciplined for reckless conduct and was disciplined in early 2019.
Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove, the other two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor's apartment, are on administrative reassignment.
The Courier-Journal reports that in recent weeks Hankison has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women in viral social media posts. The allegations are similar, saying that he offered intoxicated women a ride home from bars before sexually assaulting them.
Neither the FBI nor the Kentucky attorney general have announced any criminal charges, the Courier-Journal reports.
Shooting victim Breonna Taylor was not the main subject in a narcotics investigation that prompted Louisville Metro Police officers to use a "no-knock" warrant to burst into her home March 13, police and court records show. Louisville police used a battering ram to enter Taylor's residence, where Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were in bed, and opened fire, leaving 26-year-old Taylor dead with at least eight bullet wounds.
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