The LMPD posted the news on Twitter saying that Hankison violated obedience to rules and regulations and use of deadly force.
Brett Hankison, a Louisville Metro Police Officer involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor, has been formally terminated from the force, authorities announced Tuesday. It was announced last week that proceedings to terminate Hankison had been launched.
The LMPD posted the news on Twitter, saying that Hankison violated obedience to rules and regulations and use of deadly force. Chief of Police Robert Schroeder said Hankinson’s actions brought a “shock to the conscience."
"Based upon my review, these are extreme violations of our policies," Schroeder wrote. "I find your conduct a shock to the conscience. I am alarmed and stunned you used deadly force in this fashion. You have never been trained by the Louisville Metro Police Department to use deadly force in this fashion. Your actions have brought discredit upon yourself and the Department."
Hankison fired 10 rounds into Taylor’s apartment as well as other nearby apartments on the night the 26-year-old EMT was killed, according to Schroeder.
"These rounds created a substantial danger of death and serious injury to Breonna Taylor and the three occupants of the apartment next to Ms. Taylor's,” Schroeder added.
"In fact, the ten rounds you fired were into a patio door and window, which were covered with material that completely prevented you from verifying any person as an immediate threat or more importantly, any innocent persons present," Schroeder wrote.
"I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Metro Police Department," the chief added. "Your conduct demands your termination."
The two other officers who fired their weapons while carrying out the warrant on Taylor's home, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove, have been placed on administrative reassignment.
In documentation previously obtained by the Louisville Courier-Journal, police were advised to carry out a “no-knock” warrant on Taylor’s home as part of a narcotics investigation on a home ten miles away. Neither Taylor nor her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were the investigation's target. Police had suspected, though, that Taylor’s home was used to receive drugs.
Authorities initially said they identified themselves despite the “no-knock” warrant, but Walker reportedly opened fire on police because he thought the home was being broken into. Police said the officers were “immediately” met by gunfire when they entered Taylor and Walker's home, at which point they returned fire. Walker called 911 during the ordeal and police informed him he’d shot an officer. He was initially charged with attempted murder, but his charges were later dropped.
In the wake of Taylor's death, the city has banned "no-knock" warrants.
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