Ex-Louisville officer charged in Breonna Taylor raid faces sexual assault allegation

A new lawsuit filed on Tuesday accuses the former Louisville police officer who was charged in connection to the death of Breonna Taylor of sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.

Brett Hankison was fired from the Louisville Police Department in June. He was the only officer involved in the raid that ultimately led to Taylor’s death who has been charged. Hankison pleaded not guilty in September to three counts of wanton endangerment after three bullets were discovered to have hit the adjoining wall of the home next door to Taylor’s. 

In the lawsuit, CBS News reports, a woman says Hankison sexually assaulted her after driving her home from a Louisville bar called the Tin Roof where he was working as security.

The woman, who was a law student at the time, said she was intoxicated and fell asleep in her bedroom when Hankison assaulted her. Once she regained consciousness, she said she yelled at the former police officer to get off of her. 

In the lawsuit, the woman is described as being left, “physically injured, mentally horrified and remained in extreme emotional duress over both the assault and the feeling that any efforts made to hold officer Hankison accountable for his actions would backfire.”

Hankison allegedly later sent a message to her through social media implying the assault was consensual, according to the lawsuit.

A lawyer for Hankison did not return a request for comment by CBS while the Louisville police department said it would not comment on the legal case.

Nine other women gave statements as part of the lawsuit. They allege Hankison used his police uniform and his security position at the bar to prey on women, using a “playbook” of offering them a ride home before making unwanted sexual advances or attempting to sexually assault them.

The lawsuit also claims that former Louisville police chief Steve Conrad, other officers and the managers at the Tin Roof were all aware of Hankison’s actions and failed to investigate or intervene. The bar said in a statement to CBS that Hankison stopped working there in the spring.