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DOJ investigation into Louisville police: What happens now with a consent decree
The settlement in principle to negotiate a consent decree announced Wednesday between the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Louisville could put LMPD under a microscope for years to come. The agreement comes after the Department of Justice released its investigative report, finding reasonable cause to believe the city and Louisville police "engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law."In Seattle, where a consent decree was issued in 2012 after a Native American wood carver was shot to death by police when crossing the street in front of a cruiser, the court-enforced accord is still in force 13 years later. And it has cost taxpayers $100 million.The first step in Louisville will be for the city to finalize its agreement on police reforms with DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Thursday. He and Justice Department officials said they will continue to seek recommendations from residents and police. When it is finalized, the consent decree will be submitted to a federal judge for enforcement. More:What to know about the 7 DOJ findings in Louisville police investigationThe court will select a monitor — usually a lawyer or a retired police official from another jurisdiction ― to report on the city’s progress, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. The monitor, who will issue periodic reports to the court and the public, could recommend the end of federal government supervision when the city is in compliance. The DOJ’s report, which found LMPD uses excessive force and discrimination against Black residents and the mentally ill, among other problems, recommended 36 remedial measures, which suggests it will take time for the city to achieve compliance.If Seattle, where 500 officers left the department in the years after its consent decree went into effect, is any guide, the agreement in Louisville is likely to generate opposition and resistance among rank-and-file officers. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has conducted hundreds of preliminary inquiries into police departments and at least 73 formal investigations since 1994, when Congress gave it that authority. Targets have included police departments from Buffalo to Beverly Hills, including those with as few as six officers and as many as 1,700. Conservatives and police have attacked the decrees. Then-President Donald Trump called them a “war on cops,” and his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said they were a “dangerous ... exercise of raw power” and an “end run around the democratic process.”But policing experts last year told The Courier Journal they are the most powerful tool for police reform in the United States. They cited empirical evidence that they work, resulting in fewer police-officer caused fatalities, less use of force and fewer civil rights suits filed against departments and officers.'It's heartbreaking':Breonna Taylor's mother says DOJ report shows what we already knewThe Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute, found last year that in all 10 departments it analyzed, violent crime rates declined in the years after they fulfilled reform agreements and were released from consent decrees.In Seattle, serious use-of-force incidents declined 63% eight years after it began functioning under a consent decree, according to a 2019 report from the mayor’s office. But officials there and elsewhere caution that decrees are just one tool not, not a cure-all. Seattle Council member Lisa Herbold, who chairs the department's public safety committee, noted that per capita, Native Americans in 2021 were stopped nearly nine times as frequently as white people, and Black people were stopped over five times as frequently as white people. And she said despite the consent decree, police shootings of people experiencing mental health crises and armed only with knives had continued.
DOJ investigation into Louisville police: What happens now
The settlement in principle announced Wednesday between the U.S. Department of Justice and the city of Louisville could put the city’s police department under federal control for years to come. In Seattle, where a consent decree was issued in 2012 after a Native American wood carver was shot to death by police when crossing the street in front of a cruiser, the court-enforced accord is still in force 13 years later. And it has cost taxpayers $100 million.The first step in Louisville will be for the city to finalize its agreement on police reforms with DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Thursday. He and Justice Department officials said they will continue to seek recommendations from residents and police. When it is finalized, the consent decree will be submitted to a federal judge for enforcement. More:What to know about the 7 DOJ findings in Louisville police investigationThe court will select a monitor — usually a lawyer or a retired police official from another jurisdiction ― to report on the city’s progress, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said. The monitor, who will issue periodic reports to the court and the public, could recommend the end of federal government supervision when the city is in compliance. The DOJ’s report, which found LMPD uses excessive force and discrimination against Black residents and the mentally ill, among other problems, recommended 36 remedial measures, which suggests it will take time for the city to achieve compliance.If Seattle, where 500 officers left the department in the years after its consent decree went into effect, is any guide, the agreement in Louisville is likely to generate opposition and resistance among rank-and-file officers. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has conducted hundreds of preliminary inquiries into police departments and at least 73 formal investigations since 1994, when Congress gave it that authority. Targets have included police departments from Buffalo to Beverly Hills, including those with as few as six officers and as many as 1,700. Conservatives and police have attacked the decrees. Then-President Donald Trump called them a “war on cops,” and his first attorney general, Jeff Sessions, said they were a “dangerous ... exercise of raw power” and an “end run around the democratic process.”But policing experts last year told The Courier Journal they are the most powerful tool for police reform in the United States. They cited empirical evidence that they work, resulting in fewer police-officer caused fatalities, less use of force and fewer civil rights suits filed against departments and officers.'It's heartbreaking':Breonna Taylor's mother says DOJ report shows what we already knewThe Center for American Progress, an independent, nonpartisan policy institute, found last year that in all 10 departments it analyzed, violent crime rates declined in the years after they fulfilled reform agreements and were released from consent decrees.In Seattle, serious use-of-force incidents declined 63% eight years after it began functioning under a consent decree, according to a 2019 report from the mayor’s office. But officials there and elsewhere caution that decrees are just one tool not, not a cure-all. Seattle Council member Lisa Herbold, who chairs the department's public safety committee, noted that per capita, Native Americans in 2021 were stopped nearly nine times as frequently as white people, and Black people were stopped over five times as frequently as white people. And she said despite the consent decree, police shootings of people experiencing mental health crises and armed only with knives had continued.
The Debate Over Covid’s Origin
Both U.S. political parties are now open to the idea that Covid may have come from a lab in China.A new House committee investigating the origins of Covid opened its first public hearing yesterday with plenty of political theater. Republicans accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of covering up the virus’s origins, and Democrats criticized those claims as biased and unsubstantiated. But lawmakers displayed bipartisan agreement on one point: The virus really may have come from a laboratory in China.“Whether it was a lab leak or infection through animals, I think we’ve got to pursue both of those paths if we are ever to get the truth,” Representative Kweisi Mfume, Democrat of Maryland, said.Such agreement might have been surprising not long ago. From the start of the pandemic, the idea of a lab leak was fraught. Some scientists treated it as an outright conspiracy theory. Many Democratic politicians, journalists and others instead embraced the explanation that the virus jumped from animals to humans.Now, the F.B.I. and the Energy Department, which employ leading U.S. scientists, say a lab is the likely origin. But they remain uncertain, and four other U.S. intelligence agencies say, with low confidence, that it more likely originated in animals.Today’s newsletter will explain the debate over the theory and why it matters.What’s the lab leak theory?There are actually multiple lab leak theories.The most plausible is that the virus accidentally leaked from a lab in Wuhan, China, where scientists may have been studying it, and possibly engineered it, for research and medical purposes.That theory differs from the claim that lab scientists created Covid as a bioweapon or that China intentionally leaked the virus. Neither experts nor U.S. officials take that assertion seriously. “It is an important distinction,” said my colleague Sheryl Gay Stolberg, who covers health policy.What is the case for each explanation?The natural origin theory: Animal-to-human transmission is the predominant origin of viral diseases, including other coronaviruses and bird flus. Many of the first confirmed Covid cases were linked to an animal market in Wuhan, and live mammals there are known to spread viruses.The lab leak theory: Wuhan is home to an advanced virus-research lab and the Chinese C.D.C. — ties that lend credence to the idea of a lab leak, much as the animal market’s presence does for the natural origin theory. Chinese officials’ apparent destruction of evidence adds to the suspicions of a lab leak. Biological labs around the world also have a history of accidental leaks.Even many officials and others who lean toward one of the two theories remain uncertain. U.S. officials are divided and acknowledge they are working with imperfect information, largely because China has not allowed an independent investigation within its borders.Why does this debate matter?For many, determining the cause of a pandemic that has killed nearly seven million people worldwide, including 1.1 million in the U.S., is important regardless of broader implications. Basically, the truth matters for its own sake.The Wuhan Institute of Virology.Hector Retamal/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesLearning the origins of Covid could help save lives, too. If the virus came from an animal, then studying and tracking the spread of viruses in nature could be crucial to preventing the next pandemic. If it originated in a lab, then improving the security and safety of virology labs might be more important.And if both theories seem plausible, that is a case for doing more to prevent animal-to-human transmission and future lab leaks. “Some scientists argue there’s more to be done on both fronts,” said my colleague Benjamin Mueller, who covers health and science.Why the lab leak skepticism?Some scientists who initially dismissed the lab leak based their views on earlier, incomplete evidence. At first, experts embraced the animal market explanation because some of the first confirmed cases, from December 2019, were linked to the market. But researchers later discovered that the virus may have been spreading weeks earlier, and it is not clear that those cases were linked to the market.Typical human bias probably played a role in the skepticism, too. “Scientists are human, and science has become a vested-interest industry,” Tim Trevan, founder of the safety consulting company Chrome Biorisk Management, wrote in The Wall Street Journal.Early in the pandemic, the lab leak theory became politicized when Donald Trump and his allies began promoting it. Many experts took sides, as did much of the public. Some may have also feared that blaming scientists for Covid could have vilified their industry and hurt the funding they rely on. The dynamic is a reminder that experts are also susceptible to biases and self-interest like the rest of us.Will we ever know the origin?Probably not. Pinning down the origin of a virus is inherently difficult. China has made the task harder, blocking outside investigations and refusing to share data on the virus’s spread.But the investigations, including the House’s, have already spurred discussion and debate about better tracking of animal viruses and improving lab security. Those steps could help save lives even if we never know what really caused the Covid pandemic.For more: “Assigning blame is not going to bring back seven million people” The hearing showed the difficulty of uncovering conclusive evidence about Covid’s origin.THE LATEST NEWSPoliticsMitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, was hospitalized after tripping at a Washington hotel.“I hate him passionately”: Tucker Carlson’s texts show contempt for Trump. Read the messages.Senator Mark Warner, a Democrat, criticized the Biden administration for refusing to show Congress classified documents found at the homes of Biden, Trump and Mike Pence.A former New York City Hall insider has found lucrative work with real estate companies, worrying critics about his influence on Mayor Eric Adams.An Arizona county gave a Republican election skeptic the power to oversee voting. The state’s Democratic attorney general is suing.More Black women are running for office, confronting racism and sexism. A Black woman has never been a governor, and only two have been senators.InternationalAn armed guard in Dhangri village.Atul Loke for The New York TimesIndia is arming villagers in part of Kashmir, one of the world’s most militarized places, after attacks against Hindus.Russia launched missiles at residential areas in Ukraine this morning, killing at least nine people.After street protests, Georgian lawmakers dropped a law that critics said was inspired by Russia and would have been used to clamp down on dissent.Recent kidnappings in Mexico have brought attention to the medical tourism industry.Other Big StoriesA memorial to Breonna Taylor, whom the police shot to death in 2020.Xavier Burrell for The New York TimesThe police in Louisville, Ky., disproportionately pulled over Black drivers and used racist epithets as part of a pattern of discrimination, the Justice Department found.California is bracing for more heavy rain and snow.Scientists announced a breakthrough in superconductors, which could someday transform the way electrical devices work.The murder conviction for the lawyer Alex Murdaugh unraveled his family’s century of influence in South Carolina.The director of the Whitney Museum in New York will step down after 20 years. OpinionsEnglish majors are disappearing, partly because of the miserable way K-12 schools teach it, Pamela Paul writes.The Supreme Court isn’t just scrutinizing Biden’s student debt program. It’s also confronting the ways presidents have abused emergency powers since Sept. 11, says Christopher Caldwell.Jennifer Finney Boylan was a Rockefeller Republican at the start of Jimmy Carter’s presidency. His triumphs — and failures — turned her into a progressive, she writes.MORNING READSKate DehlerCluttercore: Your bedroom isn’t messy — it’s trendy.High-altitude treks: Nepal will ban solo hikers in its national parks.Restaurant review: Soupless ramen in a stressless setting.A morning listen: Imagining life with the men of their dreams.Advice from Wirecutter: How to clean your Birkenstocks.Lives Lived: Topol, an Israeli actor, took on the role of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof” in his late 20s and reprised the role for decades. He died at 87.SPORTS NEWS FROM THE ATHLETICJim BoeheimChris Carlson/Associated PressA titan: Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim said he would retire after 47 seasons coaching the Orange. He leaves with the second-most wins in N.C.A.A. history.NDA challenge: Erica Herman, Tiger Woods’s former girlfriend, asked a court to release her from a nondisclosure agreement that she says Woods made her sign in 2017.Staying a Yankee: The story of how Aaron Judge turned down more than $40 million extra from the San Diego Padres.ARTS AND IDEAS To glove or not to glove?Chris Ratcliffe/Getty ImagesThe cotton menacePicture a museum worker holding up a centuries-old book. Is the person wearing white gloves? “The glove thing,” one museum director said, wearily, to The Times’s Jennifer Schuessler. “It just won’t die.”People who work with rare books say the conventional wisdom is wrong: Delicate manuscripts should not be handled with gloves — which make fingers clumsy and actually attract dirt — but with clean, bare hands. Barbara Heritage, a curator at the University of Virginia, acknowledged it could be “shocking” to see precious books handled with bare hands. “But that’s how these books were read, and how they were made,” she said.PLAY, WATCH, EATWhat to CookLinda Xiao for The New York TimesSteam, roast or pan-grill this salmon in aluminum foil.What to ReadPatricia Highsmith was excellent at creating psychopathic antiheroes. Browse a guide to her best books.The OscarsWatch scenes from eight of the Best Picture nominees, narrated by their directors.Late NightThe hosts can’t believe Tucker Carlson’s texts about Trump.Now Time to PlayThe pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was embankment. Here is today’s puzzle.Here’s today’s Mini Crossword, and a clue: Let the spirit move you? (three letters).And here’s today’s Wordle. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow.P.S. “A pro in every aspect of crossword making”: Lynn Lempel published her 100th puzzle in The Times this week.Here’s today’s front page.“The Daily” is about migrant children.Matthew Cullen, Lauren Hard, Lauren Jackson, Claire Moses, Ian Prasad Philbrick, Tom Wright-Piersanti and Ashley Wu contributed to The Morning. You can reach the team at themorning@nytimes.com.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox.
The Racist and Illegal Things the DOJ Says Louisville Cops Have Done
Three years after Breonna Taylor’s death, the DOJ released a scathing report about the racism and discrimination present among Louisville police.
What is a consent decree? This agreement will shape Louisville, LMPD response to Department of Justice report
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday morning the results of its nearly two-year "pattern or practice" investigation into excessive force and discriminatory policing violations by Louisville Metro Police.U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland came to Louisville to discuss the investigation's findings, which started just over a year after the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor.One key takeaway is that Louisville Metro and the city's police department agreed in principle to negotiate a consent decree with the Department of Justice.What is a federal consent decree?A consent decree is a legal negotiation between the Department of Justice and the police department of the city in which it's being instituted. It's a federal court-approved settlement noting steps that will be taken by the department to improve, with a monitor who will report progress to the court.Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said it would be "a court-enforceable consent decree to ensure sustainable, constitutional and effective public safety and emergency response services in Louisville."Related:What they said: Notable quotes on Louisville police investigationWho decides what's in the consent decree?Gupta said the agreement in principle between Louisville Metro, LMPD and the Department of Justice is just a framework that will be used to negotiate the final consent decree.In Louisville's case, Gupta said the Department of Justice will meet with members of the community and law enforcement officials to ask what they want to see from LMPD. Participation from the community and law enforcement should be continuous to enact "real and lasting change in Louisville."The consent decree, she said, is a commitment to "ensure sustainable, constitutional and effective public safety and emergency response services in Louisville."How long will the consent decree last?There is no set time for how long a consent decree lasts. A department will only be released from a consent decree if it meets its goals and the court finds it in compliance.What is an example of a consent decree?A consent decree between the City of Seattle and the Department of Justice requiring Seattle to implement police reforms "with the goal of ensuring that police services are delivered to the people of Seattle in a manner that full complies with the Constitution and laws of the United States, effectively ensures public trust and officer safety, and promotes public confidence…" was entered into in 2012. That decree is being overseen by a district court judge and is still ongoing.Who's makes sure the consent decree is implemented?An independent monitor will be appointed to oversee the consent decree. Garland said in Louisville's case, the person will be an "expert in this field" and will be approved by the judge in charge of the consent decree. Gupta added that they are committed to "selecting a third-party independent monitor who will assist the court and parties in determining whether the consent decree is being implemented." More:DOJ's report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social mediaMore:Read full US Department of Justice report on Louisville police violations and recommended reformWhat's the history of consent decrees?Consent decrees were enacted in a 1994 law after Rodney King was beaten by officers with Los Angeles Police. With it, a U.S. attorney general can order an investigation on whether a police department has exhibited “pattern or practice” of misconduct, such as using excessive force or discriminatory stops or arrests. Consent decrees have been used in other cities, like Baltimore, Cleveland and New Orleans and have proven effective. In the New Orleans, residents' approval rating of the police department grew from 33% in 2009 to 57% in 2020.Gupta said the city did not wait until the results of the investigation to enact changes, including a $12 million settlement with Taylor's family. She said, "The agreement in principle only represents a framework and in the coming months we will use the framework to negotiate a comprehensive consent decree with the city that will be filed in federal court."Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez
After Breonna Taylor death, feds find police discrimination – The Denver Post
By DYLAN LOVAN (Associated Press)LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights and discrimination against the Black community following an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor. Attorney General Merrick Garland made the announcement Wednesday. A Justice Department report found the Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police Department “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law.” The report said the Louisville police department “discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities,” uses excessive force and conducts searches based on invalid warrants. It also said the department violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech, like the street protests in the city in the summer of 2020 after Taylor’s death. Garland said some officers have assaulted people with disabilities and called Black people disparaging names. “This conduct is unacceptable, it is heartbreaking,” Garland said. “It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing and it is an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve Louisville with honor.” The sweeping probe announced in April 2021 is known as a “pattern or practice” investigation — examining whether there is a pattern of unconstitutional or unlawful policing inside the department. The city will sign a negotiated agreement with the Justice Department and a federal officer will monitor the progress. Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, said Wednesday that she remains upset that it took so long to feel some vindication. “It’s heartbreaking to know that everything you’ve been saying from day one has to be said again,” Palmer said. One of Palmer’s attorneys, Lonita Baker, said she was encouraged by the Justice Department’s findings, but it’s “unfortunate that it took the murder of Breonna Taylor and protest after protest after protest through 2020 to come to this point.” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city “has wounds that are not yet healed.” “We have to come to terms with where we’ve been, so we can get to where we want to be,” Greenberg said. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was roused from her bed by police who came through the door using a battering ram after midnight on March 13, 2020. Three officers fired shots after Taylor’s boyfriend, fearing an intruder, shot an officer in the leg. Taylor was struck several times and died at the scene. The warrant used to enter her home is now part of a separate federal criminal investigation, and one former Louisville officer has already pleaded guilty to helping falsify information on the warrant. No drugs were found in Taylor’s home. Two more officers are charged in the warrant probe, and a third, Brett Hankison, is charged with endangering Taylor and her neighbors with his shots into her apartment. The report said Black motorists were more likely to be searched during traffic stops, and officers used neck restraints, police dogs and Tasers against people who posed no imminent threat. Garland cited one incident where two officers threw drinks at pedestrians and recorded the encounters. Those incidents happened in 2018 and 2019. Both officers are facing federal charges. NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson applauded the Justice Department findings but said federal lawmakers have yet to step up and enact wider police reforms. “While Congress continues to fail our country with police reform, at least the Department of Justice is taking their jobs seriously. Today marks a meaningful step toward police accountability and — should Congress now decide to step up — police reform,” Johnson’s statement said. He added that the group lauded Garland and the Department of Justice for continuing a “pursuit of justice” and added, “Congress should take a page from their book, do their jobs, and pass the legislation necessary to save innocent lives.” Louisville police have undergone five leadership changes since the Taylor shooting, and new Mayor Craig Greenberg is interviewing candidates for the next chief. The city has settled a number of lawsuits related to the incident, including a $12 million payment to Taylor’s family that ended a wrongful death lawsuit. Garland also mentioned some reforms the city has undergone since Taylor’s death, including a city law banning the use of “no-knock” warrants in 2020. The warrants are typically used in surprise drug raids. The city also started a pilot program that aims to send behavioral health professionals to some 911 calls, expanded community violence prevention efforts and sought to support health and wellness for officers, the report said. Also Wednesday, the Justice Department announced it will review the Memphis Police Department policies on the use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in response to the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols during an arrest. The 29-year-old motorist died Jan. 10, three days after his violent arrest.
Breonna Taylor’s mother describes ‘heartbreaking’ feeling as DOJ validates her criticisms of …
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Tamika Palmer, whose daughter, Breonna Taylor, was shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police detectives in a case that directly led to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation, said federal investigators' findings announced Wednesday amounted to "heartbreak all over again."Palmer has long beat the drum against LMPD practices in the wake of Taylor's death, a seminal moment for the police department that resonated nationally and sparked weeks of city-wide protests. "It's heartbreaking to know that everything you've been saying from day one has to be said again to through this manner, that it took this to even have somebody look into this department," Palmer said Wednesday.Speaking in Louisville on Wednesday, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and his investigators 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. The announcement was the result of a wide-ranging civil rights review that began nearly two years ago, promising to look at LMPD's use of force, including against people participating in First Amendment-protected activities.Attorney Sam Aguiar, who helped represent Palmer in a wrongful death lawsuit against Louisville Metro, said one critique of the DOJ report is nothing mentioned about going back and punishing officers for some of the misconduct mentioned within it."I don't think enough is being done," he said Wednesday. "Until the old guard of power" is out, major change is unlikely."Surprise, surprise: We have one of the worst police departments in the United States of America."Below is a list of responses from activists, community members, politicians and more after the DOJ announcement came down. They're presented in alphabetical order:Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear"Today's findings by the Department of Justice are concerning. My hope is that everyone in Louisville will come together and see the findings of this report as an urgent opportunity to take intentional steps for positive, lasting change. I believe the DOJ findings can help achieve the goal of ensuring public safety and protecting everyone's rights"Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron"The vast majority of Kentucky's law enforcement community protects and serves the Commonwealth with dignity and honor, and I am thankful to these brave men and women who put their lives on the line day in and day out to keep our communities safe."We hope that the U.S. Department of Justice's work with Louisville Metro and city officials will help address lingering concerns and better allow law enforcement to keep people safe."Ben Crump"The family of Breonna Taylor is encouraged by the findings released today by Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division revealing a pattern of biased policing and a long list of constitutional violations by the Louisville Metro Police Department."These findings, and LMPD's expected cooperation with the DOJ's recommended remedial measures, will help protect the citizens of Louisville and shape its culture of policing. It's steps like these, and involvement of the Attorney General and the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, that will move our nation forward and prevent future tragedies like the one that took the life of Breonna Taylor and the countless others who have been killed unnecessarily by law enforcement."Rev. Tim Findley Jr."Somber but vindication. I think, locally, community members who got out in the street have talked about this for a very long time. And today, on a national scale with the attorney general here, there was an acknowledgment that those things were right and that LMPD for so many years has terrorized black people."I had several conversations with the DOJ, and that's one thing that I really commend about the DOJ. They did get out and talked to people. So I was happy to participate."What I heard today was the acknowledgment that LMPD has operated in a corrupt, terroristic sort of fashion from the way that Black people are arrested, the way that we are dealt with, the way that we are pulled over.""Today was, again, not a celebration but really an acknowledgment what was said, and it gives some much credence to 2020."I'm here. I am here as so many others to bring accountability, to hold the accountability of our new mayor of the eventual new police chief, whoever that will be. We want to make sure that what we heard today, that there is real growth, real progress after."It's a very difficult thing to hear. And I'm also interested in hearing what the FOP has to say, because they spend so much time denying these things. But there's no way around this, that this is, again, it's vindication."Former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer"First, I again extend my deepest condolences and apologies to Tamika Palmer and all the family and friends of Breonna Taylor for the tragedy that resulted in her death in March of 2020.Today is another important inflection point to honor the pain of 2020 by further acknowledging – and continuing to act on – the fact that our community deserves a new era of public safety. This era requires the leadership of the many good officers who have dedicated their lives to keep us safe and are committed to working in partnership with the community to develop a new form of constitutionally sound policing embraced by all our city's residents.Since the summer of 2020, I have emphasized that public safety in Louisville and across America is at an inflection point. Without fundamental and widespread changes in police culture, resources, resident involvement and resulting police-community legitimacy, our city and nation will continue to needlessly endure tragedy after tragedy. National events since the summer of 2020 bear witness to this conclusion.Today's findings – paired with those from the independent audit by Hillard Heintze that I initiated in 2020 – presents Louisville with an opportunity to be a national leader and a model in building a truly just public safety system. I believe good police officers will welcome this report as an opportunity to more easily meet the oath they swore to protect and serve our community and improve their daily job performance and profession.The Hillard Heintze report identified multiple challenges and opportunities for improvement – many of which are echoed in the DOJ report. It's important to note that LMPD and my administration cooperated with the DOJ, mindful that a partnership approach should hasten public safety improvements. I appreciate Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta acknowledging our "proactive leadership." We did not wait for this report to expedite accountability and improvement opportunities and we efficiently implemented or started 150 different initiatives by the end of 2022 as part of our Reimagining Public Safety mission. The work that will emanate from the DOJ report is not new to LMPD. And as shown by the improvements since 2020, our officers have the ability to see it through, with focus, dedication, resources and in partnership with the community.Again, I extend my appreciation to the dedicated officers, community leaders and the new administration who remain actively engaged in the work of reimagining public safety – learning from our past to heal and transform LMPD into the police department Louisville residents need and deserve."Kentucky U.S. Congressman Morgan McGarvey"Like many people across Louisville, my heart breaks for Breonna Taylor and her family all over again. Just a few days short of the third anniversary of Breonna Taylor's inexcusable killing by police, the Department of Justice confirmed what we already knew: the Louisville Metro Police Department consistently violated people's constitutional and civil rights. The investigation found that Louisville Metro police officers have engaged in the use of excessive force, unlawful execution of search warrants, and discriminatory practices against Black communities."I fully support the Department of Justice's consent decree to collaboratively work with Louisville Metro, Louisville Metro Police Department, and the community to begin righting these harmful wrongs. Excessive use of force and racial profiling in the Louisville Metro Police Department will continue to plague our community until we take decisive action to create true, lasting change. We simply cannot afford to wait."There's so much we can do. We stand ready as a partner with local community organizations and officials to move forward together. We can pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to address excessive use of force and nationally ban no-knock warrants. We can pass the Mental Health Justice Act to ensure trained mental health professionals respond to crises. We can and must prevent more needless and tragic deaths from happening."Today's report is a long overdue step in the right direction to hold our law enforcement accountable, but it does nothing to undo the centuries of systemic injustice Black communities have endured. We must commit to change, accountability, and justice for Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tyre Nichols, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and the far too many others who were killed by police."Shameka Parrish-Wright"There's a lot of mixed feelings, but I think that this means something to them and the order of how things and people are reprimanded, how the police are dealt with and held accountable. This is a step in the right direction for that, and if you have your boss' boss, the biggest boss, the top of policing come down and say that you have been guilty of violating the rights of Louisvillians, that means a great deal."Metro Councilman Anthony Piagentini"The fact that they are not being held accountable, the fact that they were even mentioned in a remotely positive light was galling to me. And frankly, I don't know why the Department of Justice is not looking at criminal violations against our former mayor and our former police chief. This is a pattern of practice investigation. Those individuals, those officers that broke the law, most of them have or will be held accountable. There are laws to holding them accountable. Who's holding the mayor accountable who created the circumstances of which this department has now been indicted? Who's holding the chief accountable for his role in what happened here? And I think it's disgusting that individual people and the citizens of this community have suffered from a poorly led police department that the two people that were the most responsible that are just riding off into the sunset collecting their pensions and nothing's gonna happen to them. I think that's disgusting and I don't know why the DOJ and others aren't looking at some level of accountability for them."The taxpayers here are going to completely take it in the gut in all kinds of ways. It's not just money. I come back to the people of the public who have suffered under bad police policies and I reject wholeheartedly people that look to the rank and file for being accountable to that. The rank and file do what they're ordered to do, what they're trained to do, what the policies tell them to do. And if those policies, training and funding failed, then that comes back to the administration and Greg Fischer."Related Stories:Copyright 2023 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.