Opening statements begin in trial of ex-Louisville cop involved in deadly Breonna Taylor raid
By Eliott C. McLaughlin, Jason Carroll, Aaron Cooper and Ray Sanchez, CNN
(CNN) -- Brett Hankison is not on trial for killing Breonna Taylor, a prosecutor made clear in opening statements Wednesday.
The former police officer is facing charges because, during a botched 2020 narcotics raid on the 26-year-old's Louisville, Kentucky, apartment, he fired 10 shots -- allegedly blindly -- endangering a man, woman and child in a neighboring unit, Kentucky Assistant Attorney General Barbara Whaley said.
"Breonna Taylor should not have died that night," the prosecutor said. "The city of Louisville in a civil matter ... paid millions of dollars to Breonna Taylor's family, but the money did not bring her back. Nothing will."
The trial isn't about the validity of the search warrant, Whaley said. Nor is it about whether the Louisville Metropolitan Police Department needs reform or more support. This is about the three people who came dangerously close to being shot when Hankison fired into Taylor's home, she said.
"You will hear that he shot into the apartment building," Whaley said, "and you will hear that his bullets went through Apartment 4 into Apartment 3 and nearly hit Cody Etherton as he was walking down the hallway into the dining room of his apartment to see what was going on with the banging.
"This is case is about Cody and his partner Chelsea (Napper), who was 7 months pregnant at the time and their 5-year-old son, who was sleeping in the bedroom closest to the front door when the bullets ripped through the apartment and out their sliding glass door, into the night," the prosecutor said.
The officers knocked repeatedly for minutes, and then breached the door with a "ram" when there was no response. Hankison, at the time, was telling a neighbor just upstairs to get back into his apartment when shots came from inside Taylor's apartment, Whaley outlined.
When the Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was hit, Hankison started shooting perpendicular to where the shots were coming, according to Whaley.
A bullet "whizzed" by Etherton's head in the next door apartment, the prosecutor said. Etherton will tell jurors he crawled back to his son's room to get the child, she added.
After the shooting, Hankison told investigators he made the decision open fire because saw somebody with an "AR rifle" in Taylor's apartment. Whaley said only a Glock pistol was found inside.
Jurors will see crime scene photos, including one showing Taylor's body at the end of a hallway, the prosecutor said.
In his opening statement, defense lawyer Stew Mathews described the scene that night as an "unbelievable, chaotic situation."
Mathews said Hankison did what he was trained to do that night: Shoot until the threat is stopped. "He was justified," the defense lawyer said. He said the officers "had no idea what they were getting into."
Mathews said there is no evidence if there was an AR-15 in the apartment, but suggested there may have been.
Jurors, after hearing all the evidence in the case, will find Hankison's actions were "logical, reasonable, justified and made total sense," Matthews said.
He said Hankison opened fire in an attempt to "defend and save the lives of his brother officers who were still caught in what they call the fatal funnel in that doorway."
Taylor's mother feels her presence matters
Although the case is not about delivering justice to the Taylor family, Taylor's mother will be there Wednesday as Hankison goes on trial for wanton endangerment.
"I just feel like my appearance should be seen and felt," Tamika Palmer said.
No one was charged for Taylor's actual killing. Hankison, who is expected to take the stand, faces three counts of felony wanton endangerment. He has pleaded not guilty.
Hankison's bullets went through a door and window in an adjacent apartment where a pregnant woman, a man and a child were home, according to the state attorney general. Only Hankison was charged. His bullets did not strike Taylor, whose death sparked a protest movement demanding police reform.
The long-awaited trial, which was delayed because of a case backlog caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, could provide a measure of justice for the neighbors whose lives were put in danger -- but not for Taylor and her supporters, according to her mother and the attorney for her family.
"The purpose of Tamika and family members going to the trial is ... that Brett has to see, face to face, (that) -- you impacted our family. You did something horrible. You need to be convicted. You need to go to prison," Lonita Baker, the family attorney, told CNN. "But justice for the neighbors is not enough."
Palmer added, "It's a start. I guess."
Hankison will testify in his defense, attorney tells potential jurors
On March 12, 2020, a Jefferson County Circuit Court judge approved five search warrants for locations linked to Taylor's ex-boyfriend, a convicted felon suspected of supplying a local drug house. One of those locations was Taylor's residence.
Hankison and other officers executed the no-knock warrant at Taylor's apartment in the early hours of March 13. Taylor was in bed with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker III, when the officers battered down the front door.
The couple yelled to ask who was at the door but got no response, according to Walker. Thinking the officers were intruders, Walker grabbed a gun he legally owned and fired a shot.
That triggered a volley of fire from the officers. Taylor, who was standing in a hallway with Walker, was shot eight times. Walker was not injured.
"Somebody kicked in the door and shot my girlfriend," Walker said in a 911 call.
Hankison had been standing outside the apartment and is accused of blindly firing through a door and a window. His bullets entered a neighboring apartment.
Walker was at first charged with attempted murder of a police officer and first-degree assault for shooting Detective Myles Cosgrove in the leg -- but prosecutors later dropped the charges.
The officers were not wearing body cameras.
Hankison was fired in June 2020. Cosgrove was fired in January 2021 for use of deadly force for firing 16 rounds into Taylor's home and failing to activate his body camera, according to a copy of his termination letter. Mattingly retired in April 2021.
Mattingly and Cosgrove were not indicted. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has said they were justified in shooting in self-defense, because Taylor's boyfriend fired first.
No drugs were found in the apartment, and Taylor's family and their attorney have maintained she was not involved in her ex-boyfriend's alleged drug deals.
"We look forward to the upcoming trial where, hopefully, the true narrative of this unfortunate incident will be told and correctly reported," Hankison's attorney, Stew Mathews, said in a statement last month.
The prosecution is expected to call Louisville Metro Police Department firearms instructors as well as state and federal firearms examiners who looked at the bullets and casings and an expert on the trajectory of bullets. They will also call people who were in the neighboring apartment at the time of gunfire.
The state also filed notice of its intent to present evidence of an October 2016 foot chase in which Hankison "drove his van ... onto a sidewalk where he struck his fellow officer, causing serious injuries to the officer," including a fractured spine. The department's professional standards unit found Hankison "failed to drive with 'due regard for the safety of all persons.'"
Hankison will testify in his own defense, one of his attorneys told potential jurors. Cosgrove is also on the defense witness list, and Mattingly will assert his Fifth Amendment right to not testify, but his video deposition will be played for the jury, according to court documents.
A defense lawyer said in court photos of Taylor's body may be shown and jurors may visit the shooting scene this week.
Each count carries a one- to five-year prison term, according to the indictment.
'Breonna's Law' and other reforms
In Louisville, the shooting and its aftermath led to the passing of "Breonna's Law" in June 2020, which bans such warrants and requires officers to wear and activate body cameras when carrying out search warrants.
In April 2021, the Kentucky state legislature passed a bill setting restrictions on no-knock warrants but did not outlaw them.
The city of Louisville agreed to pay a historic $12 million in a settlement with Taylor's family in September 2020. It included an agreement for the city to introduce police reforms.
Still, nearly two years after her daughter was fatally shot by police, Palmer said she feels "frustrated, angry, heartbroken, disappointed" and unable to trust the US justice system.
"To come up on two years and still be fighting this thing as if it was yesterday is insane to me," she said.
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