It will be difficult for Kentucky prosecutors to build a case against former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson after he was indicted in connection to the drug raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor, former Washingont D.C. homicide detective Ted Williams told “Bill Hemmer Reports” Wednesday.
Hankison was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment for allegedly firing shots into the apartment of Taylor’s neighbors but was not charged in connection with her death.
BREONNA TAYLOR SHOOTING: FIRED LOUISVILLE OFFICER INDICTED ON CRIMINAL CHARGES BUT NOT HER DEATH
“I think the government is going to have a very, very difficult time proving their case against Hankinson,” Williams told host Bill Hemmer. “Because Hankinson’s argument is going to be that my colleagues were being fired on and I used a split-second decision and I fired to save my colleagues.”
Williams added that the state will have to prove Hankinson intended to harm when he opened fire.
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“If officers are lawfully where they are supposed to be and they’re lawfully entering the premises to serve a warrant and someone fires on them, they have a right to return fire,” he explained. “And that is what took place in this case.
“Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend of Ms. Taylor, fired first at the officers and hit one of them in the thigh. And that officer and the other officers on that scene had a right to return fire.”
Protests began in Louisville following the announcement of the indictment. Taylor family attorney Ben Crump called the lack of charges in Taylor’s death “outrageous and offensive” on social media.
