Brett Hankison trial: 15 jurors selected

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Following four days of individual questioning earlier this month, the jury for the trial of former LMPD officer Brett Hankison was chosen on Tuesday.

Before the final 15 jurors were chosen, the group of 48 potential jurors were asked to return for one final round of questioning. Those 15 will find out if they were picked to be part of the trial with a phone call at some point on Tuesday night.

>>> COMPLETE COVERAGE: The Breonna Taylor case

Hankison was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment after allegedly shooting through Breonna Taylor’s neighbor’s apartment during the March 2020 Louisville Metro Police Department raid that killed Taylor.

Hankison is the only LMPD officer charged with a crime in connection with the raid on Breonna Taylor’s apartment in March 2020. Tuesday, his attorney tried to make it clear to the jury that her death is unrelated to the trial.

“Breonna Taylor has nothing do with the charges against Brett Hankison here this morning, and yet she has everything to do with it,” attorney Stewart Mathews said. “Without that entire situation, none of us would be here today.”

On Tuesday, the prosecution named the 30 witnesses it intends to call to see if any of the jurors know them, most of whom are former LMPD officers, including former LMPD Det. Myles Cosgrove and former LMPD Chief Steve Conrad.

Early in the trial, the chosen jurors will be given a tour of Breonna Taylor’s apartment as well as the neighbors’ apartment. The prosecutor informed the judge that the jurors would see bullet holes as well as cuts in the wall made by the FBI to retrieve those bullets for evidence.

New details about what will happen next were revealed, including the fact that prosecutors will have Hankison’s gun for a demonstration.

Copyright 2022 WAVE. All rights reserved.