The Department of Justice is recommending a one-day sentence for the cop who killed Breonna Taylor in 2020, according to reports.
Louisville, Kentucky, police officer Brett Hankison was found guilty of violating Taylor's civil rights last year. Hankinson fired several shots into Taylor's home while she was sleeping in a drug raid gone awry. He faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
On Wednesday, Harmeet Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, told the judge that Hankinson's prosecution was excessive, The New York Times reported. Dillon asked the judge to consider sentencing him to one day in prison, which amounts to time served, and three years of supervised release.
The Times described the request as "a stunning reversal of the unit’s longstanding efforts to address racial disparities in policing."
“The jury’s verdict will almost certainly ensure that defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again and will also likely ensure that he never legally possesses a firearm again," Dillon wrote in a court filing.
The request for a light sentence sparked outrage on social media.
"This recommendation is an immense travesty of justice that completely disregards the jury’s verdict," Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) wrote in a post on X. "Breonna Taylor was murdered in her own home by officers of the Louisville Police Department executing a ‘no-knock’ search warrant. Her horrific death underscored the urgent need for police reform in this country."
"This is disgusting. Even in the era of no shame, it’s shameful," former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote on X.
"Brett Hankison blindly fired 10 shots through a covered window into Breonna Taylor’s home," Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-KY) wrote on X. "The fact that Donald Trump’s DOJ thinks Breonna Taylor’s life is worth just a one-day jail sentence is morally reprehensible and deeply insulting. This is a dark day for our entire city."
"Her life, Black lives, are worth more than a day," former federal prosecutor Maya Wiley wrote on X. "Trump Exec. Order explicitly stated police should be 'unleashed.' Police must be accountable. This isn’t accountability!"