Jurors visit Breonna Taylor’s old apartment, trial resumes Tuesday

Court officials walked jurors through the former crime scene in the trial of former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison

The 15 jurors involved in the criminal trial of the police officer charged in the botched raid on Breanna Taylor‘s home paid a visit on Friday to the apartment where she was fatally shot nearly two years ago, according to the Courier-Journal.

Former Louisville Metro Police detective Brett Hankison has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of wanton endangerment for firing some of the 10 rounds that traveled through Taylor’s apartment into a neighbor’s unit on March 13, 2020.

The officer who fired the rounds that killed Taylor was not charged.

Taylor’s killing and the police murder of George Floyd led to nationwide protests and a summer of civil unrest in 2020.

Questioning of potential jurors begins Tuesday for the trial of a former Kentucky police officer involved in a botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Louisville emergency medical technician, in March 2020. (Photo: Courtesy of Taylor Family attorney Sam Aguiar via AP, File)

Hankison’s trial began on Thursday. Jurors on Friday were transported to the St. Anthony Gardens apartment in South Louisville to take a look at Taylor’s old apartment, the exterior of the building and the adjacent unit that also was hit by police gunfire that night, the Courier-Journal reported.

Circuit Court Judge Ann Bailey Smith joined attorneys for the prosecution and the defense as they walked jurors through the former crime scene, which has been refurbished since the deadly shooting.

At least one bullet hole outside the bedroom that previously belonged to Taylor’s younger sister remained visible on Friday, according to the local newspaper.

People participate in a protest to mark the one year anniversary of Breonna Taylor’s death on March 13, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

A fresh coat of paint has since been added to the apartment building’s siding and stairs. The glass door previously shattered by officers’ bullets was replaced a while ago. Court officials weren’t allowed to point out those facts to jurors during their visit, according to the Courier-Journal.

Hankison’s trial is set to resume again at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday. He faces one to five years in prison if convicted on wanton endangerment charges, but currently remains free on bond, the newspaper reported.

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