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<h1>Prosecutors recommend one day of prison for officer in Breonna Taylor death</h1><p class="gmail-article__subhead"><em>Under President Donald Trump, the Justice Department has asked a judge to consider a significantly lighter sentencing.</em></p><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img src="https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2022-08-04T000000Z_129950480_RC2XPV9A5L49_RTRMADP_3_USA-RACE-BREONNA-TAYLOR-1752784597.jpg?resize=770%2C513&quality=80" alt="A painting of Breonna Taylor in a round frame" width="467" height="311" style="margin-right: 25px;"></div>A portrait of Breonna Taylor is seen in Louisville, Kentucky, on August 4, 2022 [Amira Karaoud/Reuters]<div class="gmail-article-info-block"><div class="gmail-article-b-l"><div class="gmail-article-author-name"><span class="gmail-article-by">By </span><span class="gmail-article-author-name-item"><a class="gmail-author-link" href="https://www.aljazeera.com/author/al_jazeera_staff_150119130629458">Al Jazeera Staff</a></span></div><div class="gmail-article-dates"><div class="gmail-date-simple"><span class="gmail-screen-reader-text">Published On 17 Jul 2025 - </span><font size="1"><a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/17/prosecutors-recommend-one-day-of-prison-for-officer-in-breonna-taylor-death">https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/7/17/prosecutors-recommend-one-day-of-prison-for-officer-in-breonna-taylor-death</a></font></div></div></div><div class="gmail-social-share-buttons"><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"></div></div></div><div class="gmail-update-reading-list"><span class="gmail-update-reading-list__tooltip" role="tooltip"></span></div><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fwx75b3"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Share on Twitter" href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=Prosecutors%20recommend%20one%20day%20of%20prison%20for%20officer%20in%20Breonna%20Taylor%20death&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fwx75b3"></a><a class="gmail-social-share-button gmail-copylink" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" aria-label="Copy link" href="https://aje.io/wx75b3"></a><p>The
United States Department of Justice has requested that a former police
officer involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor be given a
prison term of a single day, plus three years of supervised release.</p>
<p>That reduced sentencing recommendation marks a stark reversal for the
prosecution, which began under former President Joe Biden and continued
under current President Donald Trump.</p><p>On Wednesday, Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump appointee serving as assistant attorney general for civil rights, submitted a <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.kywd.126793/gov.uscourts.kywd.126793.285.0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">court memorandum</a> reflecting the government\u2019s new stance.</p>
<p>She argued that former police officer <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/11/2/ex-us-police-officer-guilty-of-civil-rights-abuse-in-breonna-taylor-death">Brett Hankison</a>
should not be confined to prison for his actions in the early morning
hours of March 13, 2020, when Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room
technician, was shot to death in her apartment.</p>
<p>Dhillon noted that Hankison had no criminal history before November
2024, when a federal jury found him guilty of using excessive force in
violation of Taylor\u2019s civil rights.</p>
<p>These facts, Dhillon wrote, \u201cdemonstrate that there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from the defendant\u201d.</p>
<p>\u201cFor the reasons explained in this memorandum, the government
requests a downward variance and a sentence of time served (one day\u2019s
imprisonment), followed by three years of supervised release.\u201d</p>
<p>But critics blasted the recommendation as disregard for the will of the jury \u2014 not to mention for Taylor\u2019s life.</p>
<p>\u201cThe fact that Donald Trump\u2019s DOJ thinks Breonna Taylor\u2019s life is
worth just a one-day jail sentence is morally reprehensible and deeply
insulting,\u201d <a href="https://x.com/RepMcGarvey/status/1945901973208805839" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> US Representative Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat whose district includes Louisville, Kentucky, where Taylor was shot to death.</p><p>\u201cThis is a dark day for our entire city.\u201d</p><div style="display:block;min-width:0px;max-width:770px"><div class="gmail-video-player-facade-container"><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-0 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu" id="gmail-vjs_video_3" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><div class="gmail-vjs-poster" aria-disabled="false"><span class="gmail-vjs-poster" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" src="https://cf-images.eu-west-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/665003303001/5f5b6289-7c93-4e06-9339-4a6868d2509b/328d0400-4d96-4664-a74c-92da5a643451/1920x1080/match/image.jpg" width="467" height="311" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div><div class="gmail-vjs-text-track-display"><div style="margin:1.5%"></div></div></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-0 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu" id="gmail-vjs_video_3" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"></span></div><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--large"></div></div><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--large"></div></div><p> </p>
<h2 id="gmail-a-national-outrage">A national outrage</h2>
<p>Taylor\u2019s killing at the hands of police officers in Louisville was a
galvanising moment in the US, sparking debate over the use of police
force in Black communities.</p>
<p>It came just weeks before another unarmed Black person, George Floyd
of Minnesota, was murdered by a police officer who knelt on his neck for
more than nine minutes.</p>
<p>Video of that incident \u2014 along with the news of Taylor\u2019s killing and
other deaths \u2014 provoked nationwide uproar, leading to one of the largest
protest movements in US history.</p>
<p>Taylor had been at home just after midnight local time, when a group
of plain-clothed police officers arrived at the apartment where she was
staying with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.</p>
<p>The officers executed a so-called no-knock warrant, attempting to
storm Taylor\u2019s apartment unannounced, based on faulty evidence that her
apartment was involved in a drug operation.</p>
<p>Upon hearing the commotion, Walker said he believed he and Taylor
were the targets of a home invasion, and he shot at the suspected
intruders in self-defence.</p>
<p>A pair of police officers returned fire in the doorway. Approximately <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/speech/attorney-general-merrick-garland-delivers-remarks-announcing-current-and-former" target="_blank" rel="noopener">22 bullets</a> were fired into the apartment, several of which hit Taylor, killing her.</p>
<p>According to Justice Department prosecutors, Hankison then fired 10
more shots into the apartment through a window and sliding glass door,
both of which were covered by curtains and blinds. They note that he
could not see inside as he fired.</p><p>None of Hankison\u2019s bullets struck Taylor, a fact Dhillon noted in
this week\u2019s court memo. Hankison has testified that he believed his
police colleagues were engaged in a gun fight with a semiautomatic
rifle, and he fired through the side of the apartment to help in their
defence.</p><div style="display:block;min-width:0px;max-width:770px"><div class="gmail-video-player-facade-container"><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-1 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu" id="gmail-vjs_video_1765" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><div class="gmail-vjs-poster" aria-disabled="false"><span class="gmail-vjs-poster" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" src="https://cf-images.eu-west-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/665003303001/fa63a430-2b23-4fd0-8c51-4c4a2671f957/e96e7785-a706-4a48-aa89-fdeb28fb6f9c/1920x1080/match/image.jpg" width="467" height="263" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div><div class="gmail-vjs-text-track-display"><div style="margin:1.5%"></div></div></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-1 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu" id="gmail-vjs_video_1765" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"></span></div><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--large"></div></div><p> </p>
<h2 id="gmail-a-shift-in-policy">A shift in policy</h2>
<p>Given the outcry surrounding deaths like Taylor\u2019s, the administration
of former President Biden had opened aggressive investigations and led
prosecutions to hold police accountable for instances of excessive
violence.</p>
<p>In December 2024, for instance, the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/video/doj-secures-agreement-reform-louisville-metros-lmpds-unconstitutional-unlawful-practices" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a>
it had reached a court-enforceable agreement with the Louisville Metro
Police Department (LMPD) to reform the force\u2019s practices.</p>
<p>That agreement stemmed from a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/justice-department-finds-civil-rights-violations-louisville-metro-police-department-and" target="_blank" rel="noopener">March 2023 report</a> that found <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/8/us-investigation-finds-police-abuse-discrimination-in-louisville">a pattern of federal civil rights violations</a> under the LMPD, including the use of excessive force and unlawful search warrants.</p>
<p>\u201cAn LMPD leader told the department, quote, Breonna Taylor was a
symptom of the problems that we had for years,\u201d then-Attorney General
Merrick Garland said in a prepared video statement in 2024.</p>
<p>\u201cThe findings of our investigation, which I came to Louisville to announce last year, made that clear.\u201d</p>
<p>But since taking office in January, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/5/21/us-justice-department-ends-post-george-floyd-police-reform-settlements">has rolled back</a> the federal government\u2019s agreements with police departments found to have committed patterns of civil rights violations.</p>
<p>One of the cancelled deals pertained to Louisville. Dhillon, at the
time, called those reform agreements an example of \u201cfederal
micromanagement\u201d.</p>
<p>In this week\u2019s court filing, Dhillon wrote that she did not dispute
that Hankison fired blindly into Taylor\u2019s apartment on the night of her
killing.</p>
<p>She also said that the government \u201crespects the jury\u2019s guilty verdict\u201d in Hankison\u2019s case.</p>
<p>But she nevertheless pointed out that Hankison had been acquitted of
state-level charges, and his first federal trial ended in a mistrial in
November 2023. Federal prosecutors retried the case the following year.</p>
<p>Dhillon underscored that Hankison did not fire the fatal bullet.</p><p>\u201cCounsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer
has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the
Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone,\u201d she wrote.</p><div style="display:block;min-width:0px;max-width:770px"><div class="gmail-video-player-facade-container"><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-2 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu gmail-vjs-hide-controls" id="gmail-vjs_video_3489" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"><div class="gmail-vjs-poster" aria-disabled="false"><span class="gmail-vjs-poster" tabindex="-1"><img alt="" src="https://cf-images.eu-west-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/665003303001/e9d7f764-3d22-4196-917f-214667647698/b18dba5e-192b-46f4-9758-80588fcaf219/1920x1080/match/image.jpg" width="467" height="263" style="margin-right: 0px;"></span></div><div class="gmail-vjs-text-track-display"><div style="margin:1.5%"></div></div></span></div></div></div><div class="gmail-aj-video-player gmail-in-article-bc-video-player gmail-aj-parsed-component"><span class="gmail-video-js gmail-vjs-paused gmail-vjs-controls-enabled gmail-vjs-touch-enabled gmail-vjs-workinghover gmail-vjs-v8 gmail-vjs-user-active gmail-vjs-layout-large gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default gmail-bc-player-6tKQRAx7lu_default-index-2 gmail-vjs-ad-controls gmail-vjs-ima3-html5 gmail-vjs-plugins-ready gmail-pause-controller gmail-vjs-player-info gmail-vjs-contextmenu-ui gmail-vjs-viewability gmail-vjs-errors gmail-vjs-quality-menu gmail-vjs-hide-controls" id="gmail-vjs_video_3489" tabindex="-1" lang="en" role="region" aria-label="Video Player"></span></div><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--large"></div></div><p> </p>
<h2 id="gmail-outrage-over-recommendation">Outrage over recommendation</h2>
<p>But the recommendation that Hankison\u2019s sentencing be dropped to a
single day has reignited the outrage around Taylor\u2019s killing \u2014 and the
mourning for a young life cut short.</p>
<p>In a statement on Thursday, the civil rights lawyers who represented Taylor\u2019s family, including Ben Crump, issued <a href="https://bencrump.com/press/legal-team-for-the-family-of-breonna-taylor-responds-to-one-day-sentencing-recommendation-for-brett-hankison/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a joint statement</a> denouncing Dhillon\u2019s sentencing recommendations as farcical.</p>
<p>\u201cThis recommendation is an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a
blatant betrayal of the jury\u2019s decision. Every American who believes in
equal justice under the law should be outraged,\u201d they wrote.</p>
<p>\u201cThis sets a dangerous precedent. When a police officer is found
guilty of violating someone\u2019s constitutional rights, there must be real
accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends
the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil
rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity.\u201d</p>
<p>Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison for his role in the fatal shooting.</p><li tabindex="0"><div class="gmail-playlist-item-image-container"><div class="gmail-post-icon-parent gmail-playlist-item-duration-container"><div class="gmail-post-icon__container gmail-post-icon--small gmail-playlist-item-duration-container"><br></div></div><div class="gmail-responsive-image"><img class="gmail-playlist-item-image" src="https://cf-images.eu-west-1.prod.boltdns.net/v1/static/665003303001/5f5b6289-7c93-4e06-9339-4a6868d2509b/37ed971a-adde-48f2-bdee-bbc1ffae0276/426x240/match/image.jpg?resize=730%2C410&quality=80" alt="Protesters demand justice on anniversary of Breonna Taylor\u2019s killing"></div></div><h3 class="gmail-playlist-item-title" title="Protesters demand justice on anniversary of Breonna Taylor\u2019s killing"> Protesters demand justice on anniversary of Breonna Taylor\u2019s killing</h3></li></div>