Police in Louisville, Kentucky, have routinely violated the constitutional rights of the people they are sworn to serve and protect, a two-year investigation by the US Department of Justice found.
(Bloomberg) — Police in Louisville, Kentucky, have routinely violated the constitutional rights of the people they are sworn to serve and protect, a two-year investigation by the US Department of Justice found.
The probe, prompted by the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor, found the Louisville Metro Police Department unlawfully discriminates against Black people. It also said the department uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers. The department also conducts searches based on invalid warrants, the report found.
“This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing,” US Attorney General Merrick Garland said at a Wednesday press conference announcing the results of the investigation. “LMPD’s conduct has undermined its public safety mission and strained its relationship with the community it is meant to protect and serve.”
As a result of the investigation, the city of Louisville and the Louisville Metro Police Department have agreed in principle to a consent decree with the Justice Department. That puts the city on the path to negotiating a legally binding consent decree with an independent monitor.
Such investigations are typically reserved for the most high-profile, severe instances of misconduct. Roughly 70 such investigations have been launched by the DOJ, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts.
The DOJ also found that LMPD conducts unlawful traffic and pedestrian stops, violates the rights of people who criticize police and discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities.
The report is separate from the criminal cases against former LMPD officers for federal crimes related to the death of Taylor, who was shot and killed after members of a drug-enforcement unit broke down the door of her apartment.
In one incident, according to the report, officers responded to an intoxicated White woman who was screaming and crying on a friend’s lawn. After watching for about 90 seconds, the officer rushed the woman, kicked her to the ground and held her down with his foot.
When the woman responded by trying to bite the outside of the officer’s shoe, he struck her repeatedly in the face with his flashlight, according to the report. He later explained the incident to his supervisor, admitting he “beat the shit” out of the woman. He faced no disciplinary action.
In another incident, an LMPD officer ordered his dog to bite a Black 14-year-old even though the teen wasn’t resisting. The officer, who was searching for a suspect when he encountered the boy, deployed his dog off-leash without giving any warning and ordered the dog to bite the teen at least seven times.
According to the report, at one point, an officer shouted, “Stop fighting my dog!” despite video showing the teen lying still with one arm behind his back and the other in the dog’s mouth.
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