On Wednesday morning, 15 jurors visited Breonna Taylor’s old apartment at 3003 Springfield Drive. In March 2020, the apartment was the site of a late-night police raid during which Taylor was shot and killed.
The visit was part of the trial for ex-Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison for his actions that night. He is facing two felony charges for allegedly violating the civil rights of Taylor and others.
Taylor’s home was one of four locations police obtained a search warrant for as part of a broader narcotics investigation. The search warrant secured for Taylor’s apartment was later shown to contain falsified information linking Taylor to a drug dealer.
Before 1 a.m. on March 13, 2020, police forcefully entered Taylor’s apartment. Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired one shot at officers, who returned fire and killed Taylor. Walker said he thought they were intruders.
Federal prosecutors are arguing Hankison blindly fired several shots from outside Taylor’s home through the covered window and glass door. Hankison testified in his state trial that he thought he saw someone with a rifle and he saw muzzle flashes in the apartment. A jury acquitted him of wanton endangerment charges in that case.
‘You shoot at what you know, not what you think’
Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey testified in court Wednesday. He also testified in Hankison’s federal trial last year, which ended in a mistrial after the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.
Humphrey said officers are repeatedly reminded of target identification and target isolation in the firearms qualification course they take twice a year. Federal prosecutors showed records of Hankison’s firearms qualification score sheets from 2018 and 2019.
Humphrey said he often tells officers, “You shoot at what you know, not what you think.” He described it as a common phrase to help officers decide whether or not to fire their weapon.
In a previous trial, Hankison testified that he saw what appeared to be muzzle flashes from a rifle in the apartment before he fired through the window and the sliding glass door.
Humphrey said an officer can shoot if they see a muzzle flash in certain situations. But he also said target identification is still required.
Hankison previously testified that he did not see anyone when he fired through the window and the glass door, according to a transcript provided by federal prosecutors on Wednesday.
Humphrey said he designed a course called “tactical mindset training,” that taught de-escalation tactics to officers. He said the training was “a resource” to fellow officers to show them how to navigate dangerous situations when innocent civilians, hostages, suspects or fellow officers are involved. The course also taught officers best practices to keep people safe in the surrounding areas, Humphrey said.
Federal prosecutors showed jurors a certificate with Hankison’s name from when he completed Humphrey’s course in June 2019.
Humphrey testified that he often asked officers, “How many lives were affected after this incident?” after a police shooting.
None of the bullets Hankison shot struck Taylor, but some of them went into a neighboring apartment where Chelsey Napper, her then-boyfriend Cody Etherton and her five-year-old son were sleeping.
Former SWAT Cmdr. Dale Massey testified Wednesday that he and SWAT got to the apartment after the police raid. Massey said he would have not shot through the glass door or the window because he couldn’t see inside the apartment, even if he believed there was a threat inside.
“The main risk is hurting someone who didn’t deserve to be hurt,” Massey said on the stand.
Massey said target identification is important, especially in apartment complexes where residents share walls.
Etherton also testified Wednesday, saying he woke up during the raid because he thought his apartment was getting robbed. Then he heard “a loud boom,” jumped out of bed and rushed toward the front door.
He said bullets immediately came through the wall, so he rolled on the ground. Etherton said there was drywall covering the floor of his apartment. He said the bullets were only inches away from his head and about four feet away from where Napper’s son was sleeping.
After the gunfire, Etherton said there was silence. Then he heard a man yelling, “Breathe, baby, breathe!” from outside the apartment. Etherton later learned that it was Walker after he realized Taylor was shot.
Napper testified Monday that she and her family were diagnosed with PTSD after the raid. Etherton testified that he and Napper moved immediately after the incident even though they were not financially ready.
On Tuesday, a neighbor who lived above Napper the night of the raid testified that the incident still affects her today. She said she gets easily triggered and loses sleep thinking about March 13, 2020.
The trial is expected to continue Thursday. If convicted, Hankison could face a maximum of life in prison.
