'Literally designed to spark riots': Trump DOJ sparks outrage over push to let cop go free

17 July

A protest in Washington D.C. following the Breonna Taylor grand jury decision on September 23, 2020 (Image: Shutterstock)

The Department of Justice’s (DoJ) civil rights chief is urging a federal judge to hand down just one day behind bars for the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officer convicted in Breonna Taylor’s 2020 death, the New York Times reported Thursday.

This is a surprising shift from the unit’s typical stance on combatting racial inequities in law enforcement.

Taylor was a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician from Louisville, Kentucky. In March 2020, LMPD officers executed a “no-knock” warrant at her apartment, linked to a drug investigation targeting someone else. During the raid, police fired multiple shots into her home.

In a Kentucky federal trial last year, Officer Brett Hankison was found guilty of violating Taylor’s civil rights. The jury determined he used excessive force by firing multiple shots through her window during a drug raid gone wrong.

On Wednesday, Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, urged Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings to impose “one day in prison” for Hankison — time he has essentially already served — and to sentence him to three years of supervised release.

Facing up to life in prison, Hankison’s fate hinges on a sentencing hearing scheduled for next week, during which the judge will weigh the government’s recommendation, per the report.

The DOJ's move generated backlash on social media.

Wisconsin state senator Chris Larson (D) wrote on the social platform X: "Just when you think this Administration can’t stoop any lower, they go and do something like this. I don’t ever want to hear anyone who supports this President talk about being 'tough on crime' ever again."

Author Devin Burghart wrote: "Trump's DOJ declares emphatically that Black lives don't matter. Justice Dept. Asks for 1-Day Sentence for Ex-Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Raid."

History professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries, the brother of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote: "Cop facing up to life in prison for his conviction for actions connected to the murder of #BreonnaTaylor, and this racist a-- regime's #JusticeDepartment asks the judge to sentence him to one. This is what white supremacy looks like."

Lawyer and civil rights activist Maya Wiley said: "#BreonnaTaylor should be alive & we can’t look away. Her life, Black lives, are worth more than a day. Trump Exec Order explicitly stated police should be 'unleashed.' Police must be accountable. This isn’t accountability!"

Journalist Brian Fydenborg wrote: "People can argue that MAGA isn't inherently racist. Those people would be f------ wrong. For how else can you explain that Breonna Taylor's life is worth 1 day? So blatant it's literally designed to spark riots, so Trump can send in troops. L.A. was warmup."

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