Is Louisville compassionate? Is the DOJ?
The Brett Hankison Series, Post 1– The cruelty of confustication; Louisville in the balance
“The road less traveled” is an expression derived from a Robert Frost poem, The road not taken. Frost described the path he chose as ‘the one less traveled by,’ and ‘that has made all the difference.’
The poem’s title suggests that the more traveled path also beckons. It would appeal to those who are more comfortable following others.
In this blog series you are invited to follow the path less traveled.
You will trek to scenes of the Breonna Taylor story that are off the beaten path. We will look at details different from those in mainstream media accounts, and try to understand why our current LMPD force is ‘down’ about 300 officers.
This can’t ALL be due to firings for misbehavior. What is the other side of the story? What are the facts? Is Louisville really a compassionate city?
Lives are hanging in the balance
A new trial for former LMPD detective Brett Hankison, to begin a week ahead of Kentucky’s General Election, could end in sentencing him to life in prison.
Brett is the police detective who defended the lives of his fellow officers by shooting at the attacker from a side view when Sgt. Mattingly was shot straight on by Kenneth Walker, Breonna’s boyfriend.
Detective Hankison has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice with:
“depriving Taylor and a person staying with Taylor in her apartment of their constitutional rights by firing shots through a bedroom window that was covered with blinds and a blackout curtain”; and
“depriving three of Taylor’s neighbors of their constitutional rights by firing shots through a sliding glass door that was covered with blinds and a curtain.”
[T]he indictment alleges that several of Hankison’s bullets traveled through the wall of Taylor’s home and into the apartment unit occupied by her neighbors. Both counts allege that Hankison used a dangerous weapon, and that his conduct involved an attempt to kill.
Are these charges different from those he was found innocent of in a March 2022 jury trial of the Jefferson County Circuit Court? You will find out on the road less traveled.
Will Breonna’s mother’s strong opposition to Daniel Cameron affect the November 7 election outcome?
What might a harsh sentence for Brett portend? Would Louisville citizens suffer any effects from his sentencing or instead, might we benefit from his exoneration? How will this trial affect the pending Consent Decree?
Prosecutorial fire
To ‘assist’ the defense, the DOJ prosecutors have furnished 1.6 million documents in their discovery. There is no other way to describe such deliberate confustication— to confuse and to complicate, than to say, it is cruel. The number is like a meaningless Google search result intended to impress you with the tool’s technical prowess.
Is Brett viewed by the DOJ as another ‘poster boy’?
In a status hearing in February 2023, the defense requested to move the trial date to 2024, due to the immense production of 1.6 documents. The Judge said No; then in a May status meeting, pretrial conferences were set for this September to ready the trial which is anticipated to last three weeks.
You can contribute to Brett’s defense and need for support at this time on his GiveSendGo webpage… where you can read more:
On March 13, 2020, Brett Hankison answered the call for help. When a team of his fellow investigators needed help serving several simultaneous search warrants to take down a dangerous and violent drug syndicate, Brett volunteered without hesitation. The events that followed would forever alter countless lives and lead to the tragic death of Breonna Taylor.
While it is clear Brett's actions did not lead to Ms. Taylor's tragic death, Brett is being used as a political scapegoat and his heroic actions are being twisted into an alleged criminal act. Only after Mr. Walker shot Sgt. Mattingly, nearly killing him, did Brett take actions to try to stop the deadly assault on the officers serving the warrant.
A Fastzone Substack post on 9-30-22 questioned the DOJ indictment, and offers background on this topic. I hope to post about once a week for this special series. Please help to inform others by sharing the posts!