LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Justice Department is recommending an ex-Kentucky police officer convicted of using excessive force during the deadly Breonna Taylor raid should serve no prison time, an abrupt about-face after spending years prosecuting the former detective.

Brett Hankison is the only officer who fired his weapon the night of the March 2020 botched drug raid who has faced criminal charges. His shots didn’t hit or injure anyone, though they flew through Taylor’s walls into a neighboring apartment.

A federal judge will decide Hankison’s sentence, which could amount to several years, on Monday at a hearing. But if the judge heeds the Justice Department’s request, it would mean that none of the Louisville police officers involved in the botched raid would face any prison time.

The Justice Department, which has changed leadership under President Donald Trump since Hankison’s conviction, said in a sentencing memo this week that “there is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public” from Hankison.

— The Associated Press