The former police officer involved in the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020 has been sentenced to two years and nine months in prison. Taylor became world news when she died in a police raid on her home.
The 26-year-old Taylor was shot in 2020 during a failed police raid. She was asleep when officers entered her home unannounced, looking for her ex-boyfriend who did not live there at the time.
Taylor’s then-boyfriend fired one shot because he thought the officers were burglars. After this, the officers opened fire. In total, 32 shots were fired by the police. Taylor was hit by multiple bullets and died. The former officer fired ten of those shots. He was fired by the police at the end of June 2020.
The man was already convicted last year by a jury for violating Taylor’s civil rights by using excessive force. The maximum penalty he could have received was life imprisonment.
The conviction comes a few days after the U.S. Department of Justice demanded that the former officer only be given one day in prison. The judge did not agree with this recommendation.
Taylor’s death was one of many cases that led to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police violence.