It has been almost 2 years since the tragic death of Breonna Taylor. Most of us remember her story and hope that she receives the justice she deserves. Breonna was a  26-year-old black woman who was in bed peacefully sleeping, when police barged into her home.

Police entered her house with a no-knock warrant on March 13, 2020. They were there for a “drug investigation,” however, no drugs were found in Taylor’s home. They were there for her boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Thinking they were in danger, Officer Walker fired one shot, hitting an officer in the leg. In response, Officer Hankison and his colleagues, Detective Myles Cosgrove and Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly, fired 32 shots, six of which all hit Taylor.

They had no warrant, and fired shots into her house, leaving Breonna dead. The charges went further on the officer for firing his weapon into her neighbor’s home, where a pregnant woman, man, and a child were sleeping. “One or two more inches, and I would’ve been shot,” Cody Etherton, the neighbor who narrowly avoided being struck by a bullet, told the jury. “It kind of upsets me. I think about it all the time. My son would never have got to meet me. I would never have got to meet my son.”

Although there were 2 other officers, only Hankison was charged. Cosgrove, who the F.B.I. announced fired the deadly shot, was fired from the department, and Mattingly, the detective who prepared the search authorization, retired last year.

In total, Hankison had been charged with three counts of wanton endangerment and had been facing a potential prison sentence.  Jurors contemplated for only a few hours before reaching their conclusion. It took the jury only a few hours to find him not guilty on all charges.

There was a point in the trial where Hankison also took the stand and gave an emotional testimony, speaking directly to the neighbors and Taylor’s family. “I felt sincere empathy for them,” he said. “That was something, if my daughter was shot at, or bullets came into our house, that would be very concerning and I apologize to her for that.”