In August 2024, former Louisville Metro Police officer Brett Hankison was found guilty by a federal jury for violations of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights during the botched no-knock raid that ended her life. His sentencing is scheduled for Monday, July 21, 2025, at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings, at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, located at 601 West Broadway in Louisville.
Judge Jennings, a Trump appointee, will weigh the Department of Justice’s shocking recommendation—just one day in jail (time already served during booking) and **three years of supervised release)—against federal sentencing guidelines that originally called for 11 to 14 years in prison.
This recommendation comes from a DOJ that has since been restructured and weakened, and which has utterly failed to uphold justice for Breonna Taylor or the Louisville community, despite overwhelming evidence of misconduct by Hankison and others within the LMPD. The proposal has drawn widespread condemnation and public outcry ahead of Monday’s hearing.
Latest news on BreTt
Hankison sentencing
US Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
DoJ seeks single-day sentence for officer who fired into Breonna Taylor’s home
DOJ Seeks Paltry Sentence for Ex-Cop Convicted in Deadly Breonna Taylor Raid
US Justice Department wants no prison time for ex-officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid
DoJ seeks single-day sentence for officer who fired into Breonna Taylor’s home
Here’s the relevant information from the Western District of Kentucky’s public docket:
- Case No.: 3:22‑cr‑00084‑RGJ
- Defendant: Brett Hankison
- Presiding Judge: Hon. Rebecca Grady Jennings
- Hearing: Sentencing
- Date & Time: Monday, July 21, 2025 at 1:30 PM
- Courtroom: Courtroom 3 in the Louisville federal courthouse
Tensions are high
- Civil rights leaders, activists, and local officials have spoken out forcefully against the DOJ’s outrageous sentencing recommendation, calling it a betrayal of justice and a slap in the face to Breonna Taylor’s family and the Louisville community.
- Their warnings echo the raw energy and urgency of the 2020 protests, when thousands took to the streets in response to Taylor’s killing and the systemic failures that followed. The same spirit of resistance is building again—and the timing of this sentencing has only intensified calls for accountability.
- With outrage growing and what is likely to be an unjust sentencing now imminent, the conditions are ripe for the public to once again rise up, make their voices heard, and refuse to let this final insult go unanswered.
✅ There are multiple credible allegations from civilians about Brett Hankison’s history of harassment, wrongful arrest, and stalking behavior.
Here’s what the reporting and public testimony show:
🚨 Civil Claims: Harassment & False Arrest
- Kendrick Wilson, a Louisville small‑business owner, filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Hankison arrested him three times between 2016 and 2018 over incidents that were later dropped. Wilson contends the charges were false, and that Hankison planted drugs during one arrest (the bag was found “several feet away”) and acted aggressively after a personal grievance over mutual acquaintance with a woman. Wilson described Hankison as “a dirty cop with a vendetta” Reddit+15WHAS11+15The Washington Post+15.
- A WLKY investigation echoed Wilson’s account, adding that police carried out raids on his home and business—and that Wilson felt he was defamed and wrongly targeted, with no incriminating evidence found WLKY.
🧍♀️ Sexual Misconduct & Stalking Allegations
- A lawsuit filed in Jefferson County Superior Court (reported by The Washington Post, Inside Edition, Wave3, and LPM) features multiple allegations from two main women, plus statements from at least nine others. The primary plaintiff, a law student, says Hankison—off-duty but in uniform—offered her a ride from a bar in April 2018. She says she passed out, he followed her into her apartment, and she woke to a violent sexual assault. She described being left “physically injured and mentally battered” and was terrified to report him out of fear of retaliation https://www.wave3.com+4The Washington Post+4CBS News+4.
- A second alleged victim (a graduate student) says in an Instagram post that in 2019 Hankison offered her a ride home, kissed her forehead, rubbed her thigh, and called her “baby”—actions she found horrifying and unwanted. No action resulted from her complaint Reddit+15The Washington Post+15Inside Edition+15.
- The lawsuit also notes that LMPD internally handled over 50 incident reports, including at least two Public Integrity Unit investigations into sexual misconduct—one for allegedly demanding sex in exchange for not filing charges, another for inappropriate advances toward a woman under investigation. In both cases, Hankison was exonerated by the department The Washington Post+1Reddit+1.
💬 Reddit & Community Testimony
Individuals on Reddit—a public forum but not a judicial venue—report anecdotal allegations:
“I personally know two women who he had approached at Tin Roof and they described him as creepy… He tried to take them home.”
“My friend’s neighbor hung out with Brett. I heard of some unsettling and wild things… Tons of stimulant use… spiking drinks… preying on wasted chicks…” Reddit+4Reddit+4Reddit+4
“He’s a complete dick bag. I’ve met him several times.”
“I know personally 2 people that have been sexually harassed by him while he was ‘on duty.’”RedditWHAS11+2Reddit+2Reddit+2
These statements align with the broader pattern alleged in lawsuits.
📋 Summary Table
| Type of Allegation | Source & Details |
|---|---|
| Harassment / False Arrest | Kendrick Wilson lawsuit: arrests dropped; alleges drug planting and retaliatory behaviorReddit+4WHAS11+4Oxygen+4 |
| Sexual Misconduct / Assault | Multiple women’s lawsuits and social media posts: ride-home incidents leading to harassment or assault; fear of reporting The Washington PostInside Editionhttps://www.wave3.comWKYU FMLouisville Public MediaWHAS11 |
| Community Reports (reddit) | Personal anecdotes describing stalking, predation at bars, unsolicited advances, and drug-related misconduct RedditRedditRedditReddit |
✅ Bottom Line
- The federal civil lawsuit by Kendrick Wilson includes claims of false arrest and staged evidence, describing a long-term vendetta.
- Another civil suit and multiple public posts describe a pattern of predatory behavior toward women, including possible sexual assault.
- While no criminal charges for these allegations have been filed to date, there is substantial documentation, testimony, and internal incident reporting—combined with community accounts—that paint a troubling overall portrait.
1. Kendrick Wilson v. Hankison (Federal Civil Rights Lawsuit)
📄 A 20-page complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (Case No. 3:19-cv-739-CRS‑RSE) alleges that Hankison:
- Arrested Wilson three times between 2016 and 2018, often after off-duty shifts at local bars, then dropped the charges.
- Planted cocaine on Wilson—body-camera footage reportedly shows the bag “several feet away” before Hankison supposedly picked it up to make an arrest.
- Orchestrated a wrongful raid on Wilson’s home and barbershop in October 2019, including gun-pointing at his girlfriend—all without finding illegal substances Department of Justice+12Scribd+12Scribd+12People.com+2TheGrio+2Oxygen+2.
The suit states Hankison “decided…Mr. Wilson…had to be engaging in illegal activity, and that (Hankison) had to ensure his conviction” Scribd+1Oxygen+1.
🔹 Status/Access: The full PDF is available via Scribd and outlines each arrest, Wilson’s internal affairs complaint, and claims under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 Scribd+1vLex+1.
2. Margo Borders et al. v. Hankison (Jefferson County, KY – Sexual Assault Lawsuit)
📄 Filed in Jefferson County Circuit Court, this complaint centers on:
- Violent sexual assault of Margo Borders in April 2018: she alleges Hankison—off-duty, yet in uniform—followed her to her apartment, left her injured and traumatized, and then attempted to characterize the encounter as consensual Police1+12People.com+12Louisville Public Media+12.
- Additional accounts: At least nine other women are referenced as having made similar allegations—harassment while off-duty or as bar security, unwanted advances, groping, sharing of intimate photos, etc. Louisville Public Media.
Borders also asserts LMPD supervisors knew about the pattern yet did not act Louisville Public Media.
3. Standalone Social Media Reports
From People.com via People magazine:
- Margo Borders posted on Facebook detailing her assault and fear of retaliation, confirming Hankison’s identity as her attacker scholarship.law.upenn.eduPeople.com+1Louisville Public Media+1.
- Emily Terry posted on Instagram recounting a 2019 incident where Hankison offered her a ride, rubbed her thigh, kissed her forehead, and used pet names like “baby”—she reported it, but no formal police action followedPeople.com.
📂 Summary Table
| Allegation(s) | Source | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| False arrest & planted drugs | Wilson Complaint (federal, 20 pp) Center for Justice+4Oxygen+4TheGrio+4Scribd+1Scribd+1 | Body-cam logs; dropped charges |
| Violent sexual assault | Borders Complaint (Jefferson County) Louisville Public Media | Lawsuit, blood evidence, internal awareness |
| Multiple harassment accounts | Lawsuit + social media Louisville Public MediaPeople.com | Instagram, Facebook posts |