In September 2020, a 12-person grand jury in Jefferson County voted to indict Brett Hankison, a fired Louisville police officer, on 3 charges of Wanton Endangerment for the shots he fired as part of a raid by LMPD at the apartment occupied by Breonna Taylor and Kenneth Walker in March 2020.

Per the indictment, the three charges against Hankinson were the result of bullets that ended up striking the apartment next to Taylor's, missing Taylor's apartment completely. FBI ballistics showed that the bullets that struck the other apartment all came from Hankinson's firearm. Hankinson faced one wanton endangerment charge a piece for the three residents of the adjacent apartment he fired into, occupied by a pregnant neighbor, her 5 year old son, and her boyfriend.

The grand jury did not indict Hankinson on any counts related to shots fired into Taylor & Walker's apartment, nor did they indict LMPD detectives Jonathan Mattingly & Myles Cosgrove, who also fired shots into Taylor & Walker's apartment.

Hankinson was terminated by LMPD in June 2020 after an internal investigation found Hankison's actions created "substantial danger of death and serious injury" to Taylor other occupants of apartment complex. Cosgrove was terminated in January 2021 after an internal investigation by LMPS determined that Cosgrove had "violated standard operating procedures for deadly force" and had failed to activate the body camera he was equipped with on the night of the raid. The police merit board upheld Cosgrove's firing in December 2021 following an appeal of his initial termination.

The internal review of Detective Mattingly determined that he had followed LMPD department procedures, and he kept his job, retiring in June 2021 from the LMPD.

KRS 508.060 – WANTON ENDANGERMENT IN THE FIRST DEGREE

(1) A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.

(2) Wanton endangerment in the first degree is a Class D felony.

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Individuals found guilty of wanton endangerment in the first carries a sentence of 1 to 5 years in prison.

Per the findings presented to the grand jury following a 6 month investigation that involved LMPD, Kentucky State Police, and the FBI, Detective Mattingly was the only officer to enter the apartment on March 13, 2020 after police announced themselves and rammed the door after no one answered. There was conflicting testimony as to whether or not the police announced themselves that night, but the investigation was able to provide a corroborating witness from the apartment complex who stated that they did hear the police announce themselves before ramming the door.

Detective Mattingly reported encountering Kenneth Walker once he had entered the apartment, and stated that Walker was standing with the gun in a "shooting stance". Walker, who was a legal gun owner and claimed he did not hear the police announce themselves, fired once and struck Officer Mattingly in the thigh, as confirmed by ballistics. Walker's testimony confirms that he fired first; he stated that he believed the apartment was being burglarized.

Detective Mattingly returned fire at Walker with 6 shots. The Detective Cosgrove, who was standing in the doorway behind Detective Mattingly, also fired. At that point Officer Hankinson, who was standing behind Detective Cosgrove and saw Detective Mattingly fall after having been shot, testified in his trial that he opted "to get out of that fatal funnel as quickly as possible and get to a location where I can return rounds," and he began firing from the outside of the apartment through the screen door and through a window. Hankinson also testified that he saw a silhouette "in a shooting stance" in the apartment hallway being illuminated by muzzle blasts and that he believed the individual was holding a rifle, which he suspected to be an automatic rifle. No rifles were found inside of the apartment, and it was confirmed that Kenneth Walker only fired 1 shot that night, to the 32 rounds shot by LMPD.

FBI ballistics have confirmed that the fatal shot that killed Breonna Taylor was fired by Detective Cosgrove. The state's investigation has reached the conclusion that Detective Mattingly's & Detective Cosgrove's use of force was justified.

Chelsey Napper, the pregnant neighbor whose apartment was struck by Hankinson's errant shots, filed a lawsuit against Hankinson with Jefferson County Circuit Court in June 2020 seeking a trial punitive damages, and attorney fees. Hankinson was granted a stay of proceedings until after the decision came in his trial for wanton endangerment charges.

Her complaint alleged that one of Hankinson's shots struck a wall inside her apartment only inches away from her boyfriend's head.

Smh.

Both Jonathan Mattingly and Myles Cosgrove asserted their 5th Amendment rights not to testify in Hankinson's trial due to the ongoing federal investigation by the FBI. The FBI opened their investigation of the Breonna Taylor shooting in May of 2020, but have not concluded their investigation nor have they announced any charges against Hankinson, Mattingly, or Cosgrove.

 

I thought he would be found guilty.  Now that’s he wasn’t.  I’m trying to guess how the defense played it out in court.  My assumption is that they focused on the definition of wanton endangerment.  AND the lack of intent.

KRS 508.060 – WANTON ENDANGERMENT IN THE FIRST DEGREE

(1) A person is guilty of wanton endangerment in the first degree when, under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life, he wantonly engages in conduct which creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person.

 

Just my take but I’m guessing that his attorneys said Officer Hankinson didn’t have any time to analyze the situation or background and that he only had time to react to the threat.

Lack of intent makes this type of charge tough for what actually happened.  Wanton endangerment charges can be used in shootings where other innocent or unintended parties were near by.  But usually the defendant, if guilty, is because they overlooked or simply didn’t care about innocent bystanders.  Furthermore, one of the things often discussed in law classes, is how would a normal person under normal circumstances have perceived the situation.  That moment was certainly anything but normal. 

Just to be clear wanton endangerment  charges can be used in A LOT of different types of cases/crimes.  Probably the most other common in Kentucky are vehicular.  Where the driver by being impaired or driving recklessly or both etc. Made a choice to do that action without any regard for anyone that their actions may impact.  Typically that’s only the case for accidents with injuries.  But during the height of Heroin overdoses, especially while driving, they were often times charged with Wanton Endangerment with or without injuries to others.