Officer involved in shooting of Breonna Taylor accused of sexual assault

Brett Hankison, one of the officers involved in the police shooting of Breonna Taylor, was accused of sexual assault by two women.

The women, both white, alleged that Hankison drove them home from a bar on separate occasions and assaulted them while they were intoxicated.

READ MORE: Louisville city council committee passes Breonna Taylor law

The first accuser, Margo Borders, posted on her Facebook page that Hankison drove her home in uniform and in his marked Louisville police car. He then invited himself into her apartment where Borders says he assaulted her while she was unconscious.

“It took me months to process what had happened and to realize it wasn’t my fault,” Borders wrote, “I never reported him out of fear of retaliation. I had no proof of what happened and he had the upper hand because he was a police officer.” She continued, “Who do you call when the person who assaulted you is a police officer? Who were they going to believe? I knew it wouldn’t be me.”

Borders wrote that Hankison has a history of violence, sexual assault, and planting drug evidence on people. The officer is the subject of a federal lawsuit by a man named Kendrick Wilson, who accuses him of unnecessary arrests and harassment.

The second sexual assault accuser, Emily Terry, wrote on Instagram that she was walking home from a bar when Hankison pulled up next to her and offered her a ride home.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

This is Brett Hankison. In early fall, I began walking home from a bar intoxicated. A police officer pulled up next to me and offered me a ride home. I thought to myself, “Wow. That is so nice of him.” And willingly got in. He began making sexual advances towards me; rubbing my thigh, kissing my forehead, and calling me “baby”. Mortified, I did not move. I continued to talk about my grad school experiences and ignored him. As soon as he pulled up to my apartment building, I got out of the car and ran to the back. My friend reported this the next day, and of course nothing came from it. Flash forward, I see his face. This face. Involved with the shooting of Breonna Taylor. I then find out he has a history of corrupt behavior. He has had multiple sexual assault allegations, and was in a federal lawsuit over planting narcotics on a black man to arrest him. Not all cops are bad, but this one is. Right now, Mr. Hankison is walking free. Reading this, I hope you know this is not about me, but the reform that needs to take place. Please use your voices to speak up of the injustice occurring throughout our community. #silenceisviolence #sayhername #breonnataylor

A post shared by Emily Terry (@emily_terry1) on Jun 4, 2020 at 9:26am PDT

Terry says that the officer “began making sexual advances towards me; rubbing my thigh, kissing my forehead, and calling me ‘baby.’” She wrote that she was “mortified.” The woman says that as soon as they arrived at her apartment, she ran from the officer’s car and that her friend reported the incident the following day.

“Not all cops are bad,” Terry wrote, “but this one is.”

READ MORE: On Breonna Taylor’s birthday, let us not forget her killers are still free

She went on to explain that reporting the assault was to influence police reform. “Please,” she wrote, “use your voices to speak up of the injustice occurring throughout our community.”

Brett Hankison, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and Officer Myles Cosgrove are currently on paid administrative leave while the Louisville Police Department investigate the shooting death of Taylor. No criminal charges have been filed.

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