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Ex-Kentucky officer convicted of using excessive force against Breonna Taylor

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Ex-Kentucky officer convicted of using excessive force against Breonna Taylor


A federal jury on Friday convicted a former Kentucky police detective of using excessive force on Breonna Taylor during a botched 2020 drug raid that left her dead.

The 12-member jury returned the late-night verdict after clearing Brett Hankison earlier in the evening on a charge that he used excessive force on Taylor’s neighbors.

It’s the first conviction of a Louisville police officer who was involved in the deadly raid.

Some members of the jury were in tears as the verdict was read around 9:30 pm Friday. They had earlier indicated to the judge in two separate messages that they were deadlocked on the charge of using excessive force on Taylor but chose to continue deliberating. The six man, six woman jury deliberated for more than 20 hours over three days.

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Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor’s glass door and windows during the raid, but didn’t hit anyone. Some shots flew into a next-door neighbor’s adjoining apartment.

A separate jury deadlocked on federal charges against Hankison last year, while in 2022, a jury acquitted Hankison on state charges of wanton endangerment.

The conviction against Hankison carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The death of Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, along with the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked racial injustice protests across the U US.

Neither of the officers who shot Taylor – former Sgt John Mattingly and former Det Myles Cosgrove – were charged in Taylor’s death. Federal and state prosecutors have said those officers were justified in returning fire, since Taylor’s boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, shot at them first.

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Hankison, 48, argued throughout the trial that he was acting to protect his fellow officers after Taylor’s boyfriend fired on them when they broke down Taylor’s door with a battering ram.

This jury had sent a note on Thursday to the US district judge Rebecca Grady Jennings asking whether they needed to know if Taylor was alive as Hankison fired his shots.

That was a point of contention during closing arguments, when Hankison’s attorney Don Malarcik told the jury that prosecutors must “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Ms Taylor was alive” when Hankison fired.

After the jury sent the question, Jennings urged them to keep deliberating.

Walker shot and wounded one of the officers. Hankison testified that when Walker fired, he moved away, rounded the corner of the apartment unit and fired into Taylor’s glass door and a window.

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Meanwhile, officers at the door returned Walker’s fire, hitting and killing Taylor, who was in a hallway.

Hankison’s lawyers argued during closing statements on Wednesday that Hankison was acting properly “in a very tense, very chaotic environment” that lasted about 12 seconds. They emphasized that Hankison’s shots didn’t hit anyone.

Hankison was one of four officers charged by the US Department of Justice in 2022 with violating Taylor’s civil rights. Thus far, those charges have yielded just one conviction: a plea deal from a former officer who was not at the raid and became a cooperating witness in another case.



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Lancaster resident describes Kentucky earthquake experience

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Lancaster resident describes Kentucky earthquake experience


LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – A 3.1 magnitude earthquake hit Kentucky Sunday afternoon with an epicenter between Richmond and Lancaster, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The USGS “Did You Feel It” survey received reports from people in Richmond, Danville, Stanford, Lancaster and Lexington.

Caroline Boyd, a retired nurse from Lancaster, was reading at home when the earthquake began at 12:47 p.m.

“I wouldn’t necessarily say shaking but it felt like a rumbling in my basement or even outside,” Boyd said.

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Boyd said she felt and heard the ground beneath her rumble followed by a loud boom.

“I thought to myself what on earth is that? Because there is no trains or train station nearby, so I knew it was not a train. So, I just sat there and listened. I would say it lasted about 10 to 15 seconds,” Boyd said.

After the tremor, Boyd called her neighbors and then the sheriff’s office. Dispatchers told her there had been an earthquake.

Dustin Price, deputy director and public information officer for Garrad County Emergency Management Agency, said the agency first heard from Bluegrass 911 about reports of a loud boom and shaking.

“Approximately we were able to confirm through the state that there was a confirmed 3.1 magnitude earthquake that hit through Garrad County,” Price said.

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No injuries or property damage were reported, according to Price.

Boyd said she was thankful the earthquake did not cause more serious problems.

“Even if I would’ve had to relocate if there was a problem. I have two pets, so it could’ve been really bad,” Boyd said.

Garrad County EMA said they are thankful for all the agencies who helped respond to the incident.

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3.2 magnitude earthquake with no immediate reports of damage confirmed in Garrard County

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3.2 magnitude earthquake with no immediate reports of damage confirmed in Garrard County


GARRARD COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18) — Governor Andy Beshear reports that a 3.2 magnitude earthquake has been reported in Garrard County.

“This range does not typically produce sizable damage – just shaking – and thankfully, that is all that’s been reported so far,” Beshear said on social media Sunday.

According to the Lincoln County EMA, the earthquake happened around 12:47 p.m. with a shallow depth of 8 kilometers.

NWS Louisville reports the location of the quake to have been near the Garrard/Madison County line.

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Multiple agencies are also reporting no immediate reports of damage.





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Missing Kentucky girl found in Montgomery County after 2 month search – WTOP News

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Missing Kentucky girl found in Montgomery County after 2 month search – WTOP News


A 13-year-old Kentucky girl who had been missing since October was found in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Saturday.

13-year-old Wynter Wagoner disappeared from her foster home bedroom on Oct. 14, and her family is doing everything they can to bring her home.(Credit WLEX via CNN)

A 13-year-old Kentucky girl who had been missing since October was found in Montgomery County, Maryland, on Saturday.

Montgomery County police said in a release Saturday afternoon that Wynter Wagoner, 13, was located in a Silver Spring home in the 12000 block of Dalewood Drive.

The Rockcastle Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post that Wagoner was last seen in Orlando, Kentucky, on Oct. 14.

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Her father, Dusty Wagoner, had pleaded for her to reach out in the weeks leading up to her discovery. The family offered a $5,000 reward for any information that would lead to her safe return.

At an Oct. 22 news conference, officials said Wagoner was picked up early from school by her foster parents and when her parents went to check on her, they discovered she was gone.

Police and U.S. Marshals arrested 37-year-old Christian Alexander Delgado in connection with the case. The Rockcastle Sheriff’s Office is charging Delgado with kidnapping.

He’s awaiting extradition to Kentucky.

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