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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A federal judge sentenced an ex-Kentucky police officer Monday to almost three years in prison for using excessive force during the 2020 deadly Breonna Taylor raid, declining a Justice Department recommendation that he be given no prison time.

Brett Hankison, who fired 10 shots during the raid but didn't hit anyone, was the only officer on the scene charged in the Black woman's death. He is the first person sentenced to prison in the case that rocked the city of Louisville and spawned weeks of protests over police brutality five years ago.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings sentenced Hankison at a hearing Monday afternoon. She said that no prison time "is not appropriate" for Hankison and said she was " startled" that there weren't more people injured in the raid.

The 26-year-old's death, along with the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked racial injustice protests nationwide that year.

Last week, the U.S. Justice Department recommended no prison time for Hankison, in an abrupt about-face by federal prosecutors that angered critics after the department spent years prosecuting the former detective.

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

Federal prosecutors suggested time already served, which amounts to one day, and three years of supervised probation.

Prosecutors at his previous federal trials aggressively pursued a conviction against Hankison, 49, arguing that he blindly fired 10 shots into Taylor's windows without identifying a target.

Police shot and killed Taylor in her hallway after her boyfriend fired from inside the apartment, striking an officer in the leg. Neither of the other officers was charged in state or federal court after prosecutors deemed they were justified in returning fire into the apartment. Louisville police used a drug warrant to enter the apartment, but found no drugs or cash inside.

A separate jury deadlocked on federal charges against Hankison in 2023, and he was acquitted on state charges of wanton endangerment in 2022.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who helped Taylor's family secure a $12 million wrongful death settlement against the city of Louisville, has called the Justice Department recommendation "an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury's decision." He added in a social media post that it "sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity."

On Monday, the Louisville Metro Police Department arrested four people in front of the courthouse who it said were "creating confrontation, kicking vehicles, or otherwise creating an unsafe environment." Authorities didn't list the charges those arrested would face.

"We understand this case caused pain and damaged trust between our department and the community," a police statement said. "We particularly respect and value the 1st Amendment. However, what we saw today in front of the courthouse in the street was not safe, acceptable or legal."

In the Taylor case, three other ex-Louisville police officers have been charged with crafting a falsified warrant, but have not gone to trial. None were at the scene when police killed Taylor.