The U.S. Department of Justice is demanding that the former police officer involved in the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020 be sentenced to one day in prison. Taylor became world news when she died in a police raid on her home.
The former officer was convicted last year of violating Taylor’s civil rights by using excessive force. The maximum penalty for that is life imprisonment. He will hear his sentence on Monday.
The Department of Justice argues that the former officer “was part of the team that carried out the raid, but he did not shoot Taylor and is not responsible for her death,” writes CNN.
If the judge agrees with the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Justice, the officer will spend one day in prison and be exempt from further penalties due to the time he has already served.
Lawyers representing the Taylor family find the Justice Department’s demand far too low and speak of “an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor.”
Police fired 32 shots in Taylor’s home
The 26-year-old Taylor was shot and killed 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. The officers in plain clothes responded with a total of 32 shots. Taylor was hit by multiple bullets and died.
The officer who will hear his sentence on Monday fired ten of those bullets. He was fired by the police at the end of June 2020.
Taylor’s death was one of many cases that led to nationwide Black Lives Matter protests against police violence.