Federal investigators strongly rebuked the actions of Louisville police Wednesday, saying they believe the department and Metro government for years engaged in practices that violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law, including excessive use of force and searches based on invalid search warrants.
The Department of Justice announced the findings of a wide-ranging civil rights review in Louisville that began nearly two years ago in the wake of the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor.
Speaking at Metro Hall, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said federal and local officials have agreed in principle to enter a court-enforceable consent decree as the department makes agreed-upon changes to policing practices.
Metro government would pay $8 million to $10 million annually in reform-related costs, according to figures a consultant presented to Metro Council in 2021.
Garland listed myriad examples of Louisville police misconduct and crimes, such as throwing drinks at pedestrians, racial disparities in arrests and traffic stops, assaulting citizens with disabilities and calling Black people “monkeys, animal and boy.”
He said Metro government and Louisville Metro Police Department have failed to ensure that all employees uphold the constitutional and legal rights of Louisvillians, and failed to provide officers and other workers with the support and resources to do their jobs effectively and legally.
Garland said the Justice Department recommends 36 new steps for Louisville Metro Police Department to take. Those are a “starting framework” for changes meant to build community trust and follow federal law and the Constitution.
Many of those involve better training and policies. They include changing department policy to emphasize de-escalation techniques and requiring officers to weigh other alternatives before using force; creating “clear policies” on the use of informants and routinely evaluating those sources’ credibility; requiring “close and effective supervision” of all street enforcement, including traffic and pedestrian stops; and collecting data on those stops, including ones that don’t result in citations or arrests.
In the coming months, federal and local officials will negotiate terms of a consent decree to be filed in federal court, according to Associate U.S. Attorney Vanita Gupta.
Source: WDRB
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