Un ancien policier américain condamné à 33 mois de prison pour son implication dans la mort d'une jeune femme noire, Breonna Taylor, icône du mouvement Black Lives Matter
00:00A former Louisville, Kentucky, police officer who was convicted in connection with the botched raid that led to the death of Breonna Taylor
00:07has been sentenced to 33 months in prison.
00:10Last week, the Justice Department recommended that Brett Hankison should receive a one-day sentence.
00:16He was convicted last November of using excessive force during the drug raid that led to Taylor's death.
00:22In March of 2020, seven Louisville officers wrongly entered the 26-year-old's apartment using a no-knock warrant while she was asleep.
00:30Her boyfriend believed the officers were intruders and shot at them.
00:34They returned fire, killing Taylor.
00:37Hankison is the only officer who fired his weapon that night who faced criminal charges.
00:42It was later determined that his shots did not hit or injure anyone.
00:46CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdez was in the courtroom and joins us now from Louisville.
00:52Thank you so much, Nicole.
00:53I know you've been working hard on this case today.
00:55Describe to us why the judge ultimately decided on a 33-month sentence despite the Justice Department's one-day recommendation.
01:07Good evening.
01:08Well, the judge actually spent a long time going over all the reasons that she felt really helped explain her decision today to really reach that sentence.
01:19She said at one point anything lower than what she has announced, which is nearly three years in prison, would not represent just punishment.
01:29Now, if you remember, the Department of Justice just last week asked her to only sentence him to a single day in prison.
01:38They were hoping that the judge would account for time that he's already served, undersupervised, really sort of like a probationary, since he was initially charged with those state crimes.
01:50And then later today in court actually amended their request, asking her to only issue a three-year supervised release sentence.
01:59Obviously, she did not side with the government in that argument here, saying that a lot of the evidence, including the jury's really decided conviction there, should be taken into account.
02:13Now, she said there were times where she felt like that conviction was being minimized in some of the arguments made today in his sentencing.
02:20Now, to point out, we heard several statements made by both friends and family members of Hickinson.
02:27That includes his other Louisville police officers, included friends, even his own daughter, who spoke before the judge today, asking them to, her rather, to have mercy and not look to the maximum sentence possible in this case.
02:42On the other hand, we also heard from Breonna Taylor's family, who spoke out, and many of them who got emotional as they talked about the grief that they faced in the five years since losing Taylor.
02:53It's also notable here that a lot of mention was put on the fact that this officer has now spent the last five years going through several trials.
03:02This is now the third trial he's faced in relation to her death.
03:06And, of course, they've argued that that has also had quite the mental and physical toll on himself and his family throughout all these years.
03:14Yeah, I remember being down there five years ago in the community.
03:17I mean, there were protests, and it was a really dark time.
03:21There are obviously several other officers who are charged in connection with Taylor's death.
03:26Where do those cases stand right now?
03:29Well, the two author officers still haven't seen their day in court.
03:34They are facing federal charges for forging documents that led to the warrant issued for Breonna Taylor's apartment.
03:41So we're going to have to just wait and see once those cases get underway what their potential sentences or convictions look like.
03:49But at that point, again, it's up to a jury to decide whether really they see enough evidence to show that they, in fact, may have committed a crime in that specific case.
03:59And, Nicole, I know it's pretty quiet what we're seeing and hearing, excuse me, around you right now.
04:05But I understand there were some protesters outside earlier today and even some arrests.
04:10Describe what was going on there.
04:11Yeah, as you can imagine, it's been five years, but not a lot of people in Louisville have forgotten about Breonna Taylor or her story or the circumstances behind her death.
04:23There was a crowd of at least a dozen, maybe more, outside the courthouse steps chanting her name, really trying to remind people why they're here today.
04:32Among the arrests you just mentioned, in fact, was one of Breonna Taylor's aunts, who maybe was one of many who showed up today in court in support of her family.
04:41We also heard some several other aunts and cousins of Taylor's inside the courtroom today.
04:47But it seems like something may have ensued outside that led to police here arresting her, among several others.
04:56I know it's just heartbroken.
04:58And I always think of that interview that Gayle King did with Kenneth Walker, the boyfriend who was there that night, and just how traumatic that has been for everyone involved.
