In Kentucky, former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison took the stand in his own defense Wednesday. Hankison is being accused of wanton endangerment for shooting into Breonna Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment during a botched raid that led to Taylor’s killing in March 2020. Hankison said he mistook police gunfire for that of a suspect, and claimed he did nothing wrong that night.

Brett Hankison: “I knew Sergeant Mattingly was down, and I knew — I knew they were trying to get to him. And it appeared to me that they were being executed with this rifle.”

Hankison said in his testimony Breonna Taylor “didn’t need to die that night.” His comment prompted Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, to walk out of the courtroom. Hankison, who fired 10 bullets during the no-knock raid, is the only officer to face charges. No one has been held accountable for Breonna Taylor’s killing.