KY Cop Convicted in Breonna Taylor Drug Raid Killing, Sinaloa Cartel Faction Fight Continues, More... (11/4/24)

A Filipino lawmaker has filed a bill that would flip the drug war on its head, and more. 

Breonna Taylor. A cop involved in the drug raid that killed her has finally been convicted of a crime.

Criminal Justice

Kentucky Cop Found Guilty in Botched Drug Raid That Left Breonna Taylor Dead. Former Louisville police officer Brett Hankinson was found guilty Friday of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a black EMS worker who was shot and killed by police after her boyfriend responded to their door being broken down by taking a single shot on the home invaders.

More than four years after the March 2020 raid, Hankison becomes the first police officer directly involved in the case to be convicted of criminal charges. 

A federal jury found that Hankison used excessive force by firing 10 shots through the windows and door of Taylor's apartment even though he could not see what was behind the windows or door. Hankison's bullets did not kill or injure anyone, although several penetrated the apartment walls. The officer who shot and killed Taylor, John Mattingly, remains unconvicted of any crime. 

Taylor's killing came just weeks before the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, and her name was nearly as prominently mentioned by protestors in the wave of demonstrations over police killings that swept the country that summer. 

The verdict is "an important step toward accountability for the violation of Breonna Taylor’s civil rights, but justice for the loss of Ms. Taylor is a task that exceeds human capacity," said Attorney General Merrick Garland. 

Until now, the only person convicted for the raid was former Louisville Police detective Kelly Goodlett, who helped falsify a search warrant to allow the raid to move forward and pleaded guilty to that effect. She is looking at up to five years in federal prison. Two other former Louisville cops, Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, still face charges for making false statements. 

Hankison faces up to life in prison.

At least five officers have been fired or forced to resign for their roles in the raid, the state has banned the use of no-knock search warrants, the city of Louisville paid a $12 million wrongful death settlement to Taylor's family, and the Louisville Police Department faces a looming consent decree requiring changes in the department's policies and training. 

International

Death Toll Keeps Rising in Sinaloa Cartel Faction Fight. Roads and highways across the western Mexican state of Sinaloa were littered with bodies last weekend, as at least 35 people were killed in continuing factional strife among rival members of the Sinaloa Cartel. The factions leave bodies in public places in a bid to instill fear in both rivals and the population at large. 

Most of the killings took place around Culiacan, the state capital, and the main battleground in the cartel war. 

The cartel, long the most powerful in Mexico, has now split into the Chapitos, led by the sons of imprisoned drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, and La Mayiza, the followers of cartel cofounder Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, who was kidnapped in August by one of Guzman's sons and delivered to US authorities. 

The most recent killings came after the late October arrest of La Mayiza leader Antonio Rubio Lopez, "El Oso," after an intense firefight between Mexican security forces and at least 30 armed civilians, presumably cartel gunmen. That battle left 19 gunmen dead. 

Filipino Lawmaker Files Bill for Rights-Based, Public Health-Centered Approach to Drug Policy. Rep. Percival Cendana has filed House Bill 11004, the Public Health Approach to Drug Use Act, which proposes "humane solutions" to illicit drug use. 

Cendana has dubbed the bill the "Kian bill," named for Kian delos Santos, a 17-year-old killed by police as part of former President Rodrigo Duterte's bloody drug war. He said it would be "a 180-degree turn" from Duterte's approach. 

"The Kian Bill prevents the killing of more innocent Kians. Instead of violence and bullets, our solution is to provide appropriate treatment and direct care for drug users," Cendaña said.

The bill calls for mandating local governments to implement a community-based health and social service support program. It also calls for "evidence-based" counseling, treatment, support, and mentorship, and for voluntary—not coerced—drug treatment.

"Compulsory drug and rehabilitation centers and treatment rehabilitation facilities shall be converted to voluntary, community-based, and evidence-based health and social support programs," the bill reads.

The bill also forbids practices popular with the Duterte administration. 

"The proposed law bans the use of Tokhang or drug lists, torture, unlawful police interference, and other cruel methods used in the drug war," Cendaña said.

Cendana is a member of the Akbayan Citizens Action Party, which holds only one House seat out of 316 and one Senate seat out of 24.