An ex-Louisville police officer testifying during the Breonna Taylor trial broke down and claimed he believed his fellow officers were being "executed" when he fired on the unarmed Ms Taylor and her boyfriend.
Brett Hankison, 45, recounted his version of the night that Ms Taylor was killed by police. According to Mr Hankison, he and fellow Louisville officers broke into the apartment of Kenneth Walker, Ms Taylor's boyfriend, who then fired his gun at them.
He recalled seeing the muzzle flash from Mr Walker's gun and began to fire back, apparently mistaking the pistol fire for an AR-15.
"It appeared to me like they’re being executed with this rifle," he said, explaining why he returned fire. "I felt helpless that I had a handgun against a rifle."
As he returned hire, he hit another officer, Jon Matitngly, in the leg.
He blamed the darkness inside the apartment for the friendly fire. The officer said that others helped move the wounded Mr Mattingly out of the apartment.
Prosecutors claimed that Mr Hankison, who fired 10 rounds during the several second shooting, put Ms Taylor's neighbours in danger. One of those neighbors was a young couple expecting a child.
Mr Hankison is defending himself in court against three counts of wanton endangerment, which could result in him serving five years in prison.
According to Mr Hankison, Mr Walker surrendered to police once the shooting stopped, and told him that Ms Taylor was the one shooting at the police.
He said it "shook" him, because Ms Taylor was not believed to have been in the apartment at the time. At that point in his testimony Mr Hankison began crying.
Mr Hankison is not being tried for Ms Taylor's death, as that case was settled for $12m between Ms Taylor's family and the St. Louis police department. He is being charged with recklessly firing his weapon and potentially endangering her neighbors.
The officer's attorney, Stewart Mathews, argued that he was justified in his shooting due to the chaos of the event.
"This case is not about the death of Breonna Taylor, but in a sense it's totally about that, because that's what started this whole situation," he said. "Breonna Taylor was a peripheral part of this whole deal, but she was tied into it."
He argued that Mr Hankison was "attempting to defend and save the lives of his fellow officers who he thought were still caught in that fatal funnel inside the doorway." The defense attorney said Mr Hankison did "as he was taught to do -- he was taught to shoot until the threat is stopped."
Ms Taylor's death sparked nationwide protests aimed at police killings of Black Americans. The jurors in the case are expected to tour the apartment where Ms Taylor was killed. The case is expected to last two weeks.
This article was updated on 4 March 2022. It previously referred to St Louis, when it should have referred to Louisville.
