GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) -- The sister of Grand Rapids native Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old medical worker who was killed in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment in a botched drug raid, says that the conviction of a former officer in the case is a source of hope.
A jury on Friday convicted Brett Hankison of using excessive force on Taylor. Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylor's glass door and windows during the raid, but he didn't hit anyone, the Associated Press reports.
It's the first conviction of a Louisville police officer who was involved in the raid. According to the Associated Press, neither of the officers who shot Taylor were charged in her death: Prosecutors have said that since Taylor's boyfriend shot at them first when officers broke down Taylor's door, the officers were justified in returning fire.
"I'm very happy," Dee Dee Taylor, Breonna's sister, said Saturday of Hankison's conviction. "I feel delighted."
It's been a "painful" journey for Taylor since her sister's death in 2020.
"Each year you see me, every year, having a memorial for her at the Rosa Parks Circle. ... We should not be celebrating her without real justice and accountability for the actions of law enforcement. So I just feel great about this," Taylor said. "Next year, when I do her memorial, now we can talk about how the justice has been served."
She told News 8 the former officer's conviction does spark "mixed feelings," as she looks to see more widespread change in the system.
"Of course, we want more of the systematic justice to be served as well, but I'm happy," she said. "I feel a sense of relief and we can now rest easy. And Breonna can also be at peace, in a way, too."
Taylor said the conviction sets a national standard for law enforcement and can offer a sense of peace for other families if they encounter similar situations.
"This will never bring her back, though, but this will ... give us a standard to follow," she said. "And hope for that this continued change will grow ... in all communities."
Taylor is the president and founder of Taylor Made Re-Entry, a nonprofit that offers support to formerly incarcerated people and works to bridge the gap with law enforcement. She said her daily mission "is to ensure that families like mine are not impacted by the same incident."
"So we're going to continue to fight," Taylor said. "I'm thankful to be (Breonna's) sister. I'm thankful to represent her."