Former officer Brett Hankison’s defense attorney Stew Mathews said during his opening statement that the evidence in the case will show that the scene was “total chaos.”
He said that seven Louisville Metro Police Department officers were on the scene that night to execute the search warrant on Breonna Taylor’s apartment. He said that at least five will testify, adding they will testify about a “chaotic situation.” He said that Hankison will also testify during the trial.
The evidence is not in dispute in this case, Mathews said.
“Brett Hankison is the one that is charged and he is the one who fired the shots that are the subject of the case,” Mathews said.
“You are going to discover this scene was total chaos,” he said. “Hankison is going to tell you that when that door was breached he had a straight shot and saw a muzzle flash,” Mathews said.
Mathews said there is no evidence if there was an AR-15 or not in the apartment, and suggested there may have been.
“We don’t know if there was any contraband in the apartment,” he said, noting that the original search warrant was never executed.
Mathews said when the jurors finish hearing all of the evidence they will find that Hankison’s actions were “logical, reasonable, justified and made total sense.”
He said that the evidence will show that Hankison “returned fire” after seeing a “muzzle flash” from inside the apartment. Mathews said that Hankison followed his training which says that officers fire until the threat has been stopped.
He said that Hankison was trying to save his fellow officers who were caught in “the fatal funnel” inside the hallway.
He said that he believes the jury will find that Hankison was “justified” in his actions.
Openings are done, and court is now in a 15-minute break.
