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‘Disrespect for the people’: Merrick Garland issues scathing report into LMPD practices
The U.S. Department of Justice released scathing findings from its "pattern-or-practice” investigation into Louisville Metro Police on Wednesday.The department, for years, "has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference from Metro Hall on Wednesday morning. "LMPD cites people for minor offenses, like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved."Some officers demonstrate disrespect for the people they are sworn to protect."The 90-page report found the department:Uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and unreasonable use of police dogs and tasersConducts searches based on invalid warrants.Unlawfully executes warrants without knocking and announcing.Unlawfully stops, searches, detains and arrests people during traffic and pedestrian stops.Violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.Discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities while responding to crises.Garland said the Justice Department, Louisville Metro Government and Metro Police have agreed in principle to negotiate a consent decree.The Justice Department has proposed 36 remedial measures LMPD can take.The probe began after Breonna Taylor’s death and accusations of unconstitutional behavior and discrimination. Garland announced in April 2021 that police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis would face federal investigations. Both cities saw mass protests in 2020 as news of the police killings of two Black residents – Taylor in Louisville and George Floyd in Minneapolis − reverberated around the world. While Garland said the Minneapolis probe was prompted by Floyd’s May 2020 death in which an officer kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes, he did not indicate then whether Louisville's investigation was prompted by the shooting of Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician who was killed during a March 2020 narcotics raid at her apartment that turned up no drugs or money. DOJ indictments in Breonna Taylor case:Experts predict who has the edge, the feds or the charged officersThe FBI also has been investigating Taylor’s killing separately. The DOJ also has charged several Louisville officers in separate cases since 2020, including four former LMPD personnel in early August on charges either of lying on the warrant obtained to search Taylor’s home, obstructing investigators or — in the case of ex-Detective Brett Hankison — firing bullets that entered a neighboring apartment. Various local officials, including former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and former LMPD Chief Erika Shields, who took over as leader of the department in January 2021 but resigned at the start of 2023 as new Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg took office, had said they welcomed the DOJ probe as part of the city’s push to improve its police department and relationships with residents. (Greenberg picked Deputy Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel to serve as his interim LMPD chief as he takes office and searches for a permanent chief.)In early September, Fischer and Shields both said the city has "not waited" in implementing various reforms.DOJ police department investigations:Are Department of Justice investigations a path to police reform or 'a war on cops'?Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, previously tweeted that “I can’t wait for the world to see Louisville Police Department for what it really is,” in response to the DOJ’s announced investigation. No officers were directly indicted and prosecuted by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office for Taylor’s death, though several were later fired or submitted resignations. Hankison was charged at the state level in 2020 with wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment neighboring Taylor's that was occupied by three people, and a jury acquitted him in March. What happened to Breonna Taylor?Breonna Taylor died after several LMPD officers forced their way into her southwest Louisville apartment with a battering ram around 12:40 a.m. March 13, 2020, with a search warrant to look for drugs and cash as part of a larger narcotics investigation connected to her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Breonna Taylor fact check:Separating the rumors from the factsTaylor’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Kenneth Walker, fired a single shot from his legally owned handgun at the door as officers busted it down, telling investigators later that he feared intruders, not police, were breaking in. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was hit by Walker’s shot and fired six rounds in response. Detective Myles Cosgrove fired 16 shots, and Hankison fired 10 shots. Six of those bullets struck Taylor, with Cosgrove firing the fatal shot, the FBI concluded. What has happened since Breonna Taylor's death?The case led cities and states to pass laws banning or limiting no-knock search warrants, and it resulted in various changes and reforms, some still pending, at LMPD following a $12 million settlement the city reached with the Taylor family. In November, the city also settled with Walker for $2 million after he sued Louisville and several of the officers who were part of the 2020 raid.LMPD and Metro Government leaders said the city has made changes and reforms since 2020, including fixes in response to a review of the police department from Chicago-based consulting firm Hillard Heintze.The 2021 report from Hillard Heintze made 102 recommendations to turn around a department it found had failed to establish mutual trust and provide equitable treatment across Louisville's neighborhoods.A dashboard on LMPD's website most recently showed that 37% of the Hillard Heintze recommendations had been "implemented" and 47% were "in process," with others still under review.Breonna Taylor shootingA 2-year timeline shows how her death has changed usCity officials estimated in 2021 that reforms at LMPD prompted by the DOJ investigation could cost Louisville up to $10 million annually, and the city directed some federal American Rescue Plan funds to that area. The changes have already included a new Accountability and Improvement Bureau at LMPD and launch of an early warning system for officers after years of delays.This story will be updated.
What they said: Notable quotes from press conference on Louisville police investigation
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland spoke Wednesday alongside several officials from Louisville and the Department of Justice to reveal findings from a nearly two-year investigation into the city's government and police department.The 90-page report details issues and violations the department found in its review of Louisville Metro Police, along with recommendations for moving forward.Live updates:Findings of federal investigation into LMPD after Breonna Taylor's killingMore reactions:DOJ's report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social mediaHere are some key moments and quotes from the Wednesday press conference and from community members about the findings.Merrick Garland, US attorney general“This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing, and it is an affront to the vas majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve with honor – and it is an affront to the people of Louisville.”"To the officers of LMPD: The Justice Department is acutely aware of the integral role that law enforcement officers play in our society and the dangers you face to keep your community safe – so it is imperative that your police department sets you up for success."Vanita Gupta, associate attorney general"LMPD’s ability to serve and protect the people of Louisville has been compromised and the findings are deeply troubling and sobering. So we are committed to working with Louisville on a path forward to constitutional policing and stronger police-community trust."Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general"These findings are not based on any one incident or event. They turn on evidence showing long-standing dysfunction at LMPD. The pattern or practice of unlawful conduct compromises LMPD’s ability to serve and protect safely, constitutionally and effectively. Instead, LMPD has practiced an extreme, misdirected and counterproductive style of policing.""Our efforts were exhaustive. We talked to hundreds of people across the city. We rode with officers in their cars on patrol. We spoke with city and union officials, judges and attorneys, advocacy groups, religious leaders and community members from different walks of life. And along with our experts, we've reviewed thousands of documents regarding LMPD’s enforcement activities, and we watch thousands of hours of body-worn camera footage."Craig Greenberg, Louisville mayor"I know some people are surprised and horrified to hear stories about certain officers operating in ways that are so counter to our values as a community. All of this is really hard to hear and hard to accept. It's infuriating. I understand that."I also know there are people who are not surprised to hear the findings in this report, because they see this report as confirmation of complaints they've made about their own interactions with law enforcement, sometimes for years. Many of those spoke out and felt dismissed or devalued. Now, the United States Department of Justice is essentially saying 'Yes, in many cases, you were right. And you deserve better.' That's a powerful thing. I understand that, too."And I know there are people who will look at this report, and they'll be eager to find some way to minimize it. or dismiss it. They'll say it's all politics, or that you could find examples like this in any city. No – this is not about politics or other places. This is about Louisville. This is about our city, our neighbors and how we serve them."Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, interim LMPD chief"This is an extremely challenging and pivotal point for our city, our department and for our officers. Now that the DOJ has concluded their investigation and presented their findings, we will continue our efforts in improving public safety in this beautiful city called Louisville and making LMPD the premier police department in the country."Tamika Palmer, mother of Breonna Taylor"What was confirmed today is that I should still be able to to pick up the phone and reach my oldest daughter Breonna. It took us having to fight day in and day out for years simply because I deserved justice for my daughter’s murder to kickstart this investigation, but today’s findings are an indicator that Breonna’s death is not vain. Our fight will protect future potential victims from LMPD’s racist tactics and behavior. The time for terrorizing the Black community with no repercussions is over."Ben Crump, civil rights attorney who represented Breonna Taylor“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.”Greg Fischer, former Louisville mayor (2011-2022)"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."Hannah Drake, Louisville poet and activist"The reform is only as good as the people executing them. So here’s my question that I really want to know. ... how many of those same officers are still employed at LMPD? What changes? Are those people going to magically go home and say you know what, let’s stop calling Black people monkeys and animals."Tim Findley Jr., pastor at Kingdom Fellowship Christian Life Center“Locally, what people have been saying for years has now been elevated on a national stage." “What I found most interesting was that they talked about Black people. They didn't say Black and brown. They didn't say other communities. Black people were targeted and terrorized. And that is a huge, huge reality that leadership, that the FOP must deal with, that Black people have been terrorized in Louisville for a very long time.”Sadiqa Reynolds, former CEO of the Louisville Urban League"It is what we said it was and worse. We know every officer is not corrupt but we recognize that the system is, so even the good ones do harm in their attempts to stand behind the shield in silence. The system does not allow for the humanization of Black people. There is nowhere in this city where we can be safe, not even in our homes. Policing itself is flawed but this department worked hard to go backward over the past several years. It works against Black residents, and authorizes and condones our abuse. There have been no significant consequences and no real accountability. There can never be justice without truth. And for many of us, the unrest has settled into our souls because we could not get anyone to give us the full truth. There must be some sort of racial reckoning for the Black community in Louisville. We deserve acknowledgment and accountability from the leaders in this city. I think I speak for many Louisvillians when I say, I am thankful for this thorough investigation and report. Now, I look forward to the hard work of change."Ted Shouse, Louisville attorney"Systemic racial discrimination by LMPD is recognized and proven in this report. Many of us had known this for years and today that knowledge is validated and respected. ... It is only through the recognition of these facts, that we can hope to have any path forward."Morgan McGarvey, U.S. congressman for Louisville“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."“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.”
DOJ issues scathing rebuke of Louisville police in report launched after Breonna Taylor killing
A report released by the Justice Department shows how an anti-crime unit created by Louisville Metro Police Department in 2012 that became known for its "aggressive tactics" later rebranded in the face of intense community scrutiny. But the unit continued engaging in unlawful policing activities under its new banner, according to the report, underscoring how the department for years avoided implementing meaningful reforms."The Violent Incident Prevention, Enforcement and Response (VIPER) Unit focused its enforcement on 'hot spots' of violent crime, including by stopping people in certain neighborhoods for minor traffic infractions and other low-level offenses," the report said.Residents "called VIPER officers 'jump out boys' for their aggressive tactics, and protesters demonstrated in front of police headquarters to demand an end to the unit," the report added.The department rebranded VIPER as the Ninth Mobile Division in 2015, according to the report, and pulled most of its members from VIPER.The result, according to the Justice Department, was that the new unit committed similar abuses to the ones that happened under the VIPER banner."Despite VIPER's failures, LMPD leaders again failed to monitor Ninth Mobile. Neither Chief (Steve) Conrad nor Ninth Mobile's leader analyzed enforcement activities for signs of discrimination. Federal and state courts found that Ninth Mobile officers violated residents' Fourth Amendment rights, and we reviewed incidents in which Ninth Mobile and other patrol officers engaged in unlawful street enforcement activities," the report said in part.Similar units have come under fire in recent months, including one in Memphis, Tennessee, after five of its members were charged in connection with the January death of Tyre Nichols, whose brutal beating after a police traffic stop was seen on video. The five officers pleaded not guilty last month.
Justice Dept. Finds Pattern of ‘Discriminatory’ Policing in Louisville
The review, undertaken after a specialized unit killed Breonna Taylor in a botched raid in 2020, paints a damning portrait of a department in crisis.WASHINGTON — The police department in Louisville, Ky., engaged in a yearslong pattern of discriminatory law enforcement practices, the Justice Department said on Wednesday after conducting a two-year investigation prompted by the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor by the police in 2020.Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, appearing in Louisville alongside the city’s mayor and acting police chief, announced an agreement to overhaul policing practices he said had led to systemic discrimination against Black people, including Ms. Taylor. Ms. Taylor, a Black medical worker, was shot and killed by police officers assigned to a drug enforcement unit in March 2020 during a botched raid of her apartment.In a damning 90-page report, investigators painted a grim portrait of the Louisville Metro Police Department, detailing a variety of serious abuses, including excessive force; searches based on invalid and so-called no-knock warrants; unlawful car stops, detentions and harassment of people during street sweeps; and broad patterns of discrimination against Black people and people with behavioral health problems.“The L.M.P.D.’s conduct has undermined its public safety mission and strained its relationship with the community it is meant to protect and serve,” Mr. Garland said.The Justice Department’s findings, he said, were succinctly captured by an unnamed Louisville police leader interviewed during the investigation:“Breonna Taylor was a symptom of problems we have had for years.”Justice Department investigators also found widespread problems in the way the police handled investigations of domestic violence and sexual assault cases, including allegations of sexual misconduct or domestic violence against law enforcement officers.Mr. Garland said that his investigators also uncovered instances of blatant racism against Black Louisville residents, including the disproportionate use of traffic stops in Black neighborhoods — and even the use of racist epithets like “monkey,” “animal” and “boy.”Kristen Clarke, the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said that the targeting of Black people for traffic stops and searches turned conventional law enforcement practices into “weapons of oppression, submission and fear.”The Louisville investigation is one of several so-called pattern or practice investigations into potentially discriminatory policing around the country that have been opened under Mr. Garland.The investigation and report, which are likely to lead to a consent decree by both parties, are separate from the federal criminal investigation into the conduct of the members of a drug enforcement unit who broke down the door to Ms. Taylor’s apartment, killing her as they engaged in a shootout with her boyfriend.Some of the reforms outlined by Mr. Garland have already been undertaken. After Ms. Taylor’s death, the department banned “no-knock” warrants, which allowed officers to break into a residence without warning. Officials have also expanded their use of counseling and training for officers and appointed an inspector general to review the department’s practices.“We will not make excuses, we will make changes,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg of Louisville, a Democrat who took office in January.Mr. Greenberg vowed to embrace an overhaul of the department’s practices.He called the abuses outlined in the report “a betrayal of the integrity and professionalism that the overwhelming majority of our officers bring to their job every day and every night.”
Live updates: Findings of federal investigation into LMPD after Breonna Taylor’s killing revealed
The Courier Journal has learned that the U.S. Department of Justice is set to announce the findings of a sweeping investigation of Louisville Metro and the city's police department on Wednesday, the result of a nearly two-year probe following the killing of Breonna Taylor.The investigation, announced in April 2021 after nearly a year of protests over Taylor's killing at the hands of LMPD officers, aimed to assess "all types of force" used by local police, including potential violations of the First Amendment, whether the department engages in discriminatory policing and whether it worked in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.READ THE REPORT:US Department of Justice release on Louisville police violations and recommended reform"The investigation will include a comprehensive review of LMPD policies, training, and supervision, as well as LMPD’s systems of accountability, including misconduct complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition, and discipline," the department's announcement on April 26, 2021, said.U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland met with city officials in the morning before a planned press conference at 11 a.m. in downtown Louisville. Garland was set to speak alongside Assistant Attorneys General Vanita Gupta and Kristen Clarke along with Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and Louisville Metro Police interim Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel.Updates from Wednesday's press conferenceAt the press conference, Garland said the U.S. Department of Justice and city of Louisville had agreed to negotiate a consent decree to establish a reform.The 90-page report released includes 36 recommended remedial measures and a lengthy list of reported violations by the department, including discriminatory policing and use of excessive force.Violations, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, include a pattern of practice thta did not comply with the Constitution and federal law, including excessive force such as unjustified neck restraints and use of police dogs and tasers against people who posed no imminent threat, searches through invalid warrants that were executed without officers announcing their presence. Officers routinely discriminated against Black people and violated the rights of people engaged in protected speech, she said, and "disproportionately subjecting Black residents to unlawful policing."“This conduct is unacceptable. It is heartbreaking. 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 with honor – and it is an affront to the people of Louisville," Garland said.Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, who said the report "paints a painful picture about LMPD's past," said some people will be "surprised or horrified" by the findings, while others will not be surprised "because they see this report is confirmation of complaints they've made about their own interactions with law enforcement, sometimes for years." Others, he said "will look at this report and they'll be eager to find some way to minimize it or dismiss it.""They'll say it's all politics, or that you could find examples like this in any city," Greenberg said. "No – this is not about politics or other places. This is about Louisville., This is about our city, our neighbors and how we serve them."Community meeting Wednesday nightGreenberg said Louisville plans to host a virtual community meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday night to discuss the findings.Department of Justice releases investigation on LMPD, Louisville MetroThe full investigation is 90 pages long and outlines violations in the department along with recommended changes.Check out the full release from the U.S. Department of Justice here.What happened in the Breonna Taylor caseTaylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician in Louisville, was shot and killed by LMPD officers serving a no-knock warrant at her apartment in the early-morning hours of March 13, 2020. Her death was a key factor behind national protests that summer over police killings of Black Americans and was at the center of months of demonstrations in Louisville, and Wednesday's announcement comes nearly three years after the fatal shooting.After Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron and his team of prosecutors presented the shooting to a grand jury, just one officer who fired their weapon that night was indicted locally – Brett Hankison, on wanton endangerment charges stemming from rounds he fired that entered a neighbor's apartment. He was acquitted in March 2022.In August 2022, however, four former officers were indicted by a federal grand jury – Hankison, on excessive force charges, along with Joshua Jaynes, Kelly Ann Goodlett and Kyle Meany, who were accused of taking steps to falsify the warrant used in the raid at Taylor's apartment. Goodlett later pleaded guilty, while charges against the other former officers are still pending.Steve Conrad, who was LMPD's chief at the time of Taylor's death, was fired in June 2020 after local barbecue stand owner David McAtee was shot and killed by law enforcement officials breaking up a crowd near his business on an early night of the protests. He was fired by then-Mayor Greg Fischer after it was determined officers were not wearing operational body cameras at the time of that shooting. Fischer faced intense pressure to step down amid the 2020 protests but remained in office until his third and final term expired at the end of 2022.The city of Louisville later settled with Taylor's family for $12 million and agreed to a number of police reforms.Reach The Courier Journal's breaking news team at [email protected].
‘Disrespect for the people.’ Garland issues scathing report into LMPD practices
The U.S. Department of Justice released scathing findings Wednesday from its "pattern-or-practice” investigation into Louisville Metro Police on Wednesday.The department, for years, "has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city," U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference from Metro Hall on Wednesday morning. "LMPD cites people for minor offenses, like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved."Some officers demonstrate disrespect for the people they are sworn to protect."The 90-page report found the department:Uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and unreasonable use of police dogs and tasersConducts searches based on invalid warrants.Unlawfully executes warrants without knocking and announcing.Unlawfully stops, searches, detains and arrests people during traffic and pedestrian stops.Violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.Discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities while responding to crises.Garland said the Justice Department, Louisville Metro Government and Metro Police have agreed in principle to negotiate a consent decree.The Justice Department has proposed 36 remedial measures LMPD can take.The probe began after Breonna Taylor’s death and accusations of unconstitutional behavior and discrimination. Garland announced in April 2021 that police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis would face federal investigations. Both cities saw mass protests in 2020 as news of the police killings of two Black residents – Taylor in Louisville and George Floyd in Minneapolis − reverberated around the world. While Garland said the Minneapolis probe was prompted by Floyd’s May 2020 death in which an officer kneeled on his neck for over nine minutes, he did not indicate then whether Louisville's investigation was prompted by the shooting of Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency room technician who was killed during a March 2020 narcotics raid at her apartment that turned up no drugs or money. DOJ indictments in Breonna Taylor case:Experts predict who has the edge, the feds or the charged officersThe FBI also has been investigating Taylor’s killing separately. The DOJ also has charged several Louisville officers in separate cases since 2020, including four former LMPD personnel in early August on charges either of lying on the warrant obtained to search Taylor’s home, obstructing investigators or — in the case of ex-Detective Brett Hankison — firing bullets that entered a neighboring apartment. Various local officials, including former Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and former LMPD Chief Erika Shields, who took over as leader of the department in January 2021 but resigned at the start of 2023 as new Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg took office, had said they welcomed the DOJ probe as part of the city’s push to improve its police department and relationships with residents. (Greenberg picked Deputy Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel to serve as his interim LMPD chief as he takes office and searches for a permanent chief.)In early September, Fischer and Shields both said the city has "not waited" in implementing various reforms.DOJ police department investigations:Are Department of Justice investigations a path to police reform or 'a war on cops'?Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, previously tweeted that “I can’t wait for the world to see Louisville Police Department for what it really is,” in response to the DOJ’s announced investigation. No officers were directly indicted and prosecuted by Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office for Taylor’s death, though several were later fired or submitted resignations. Hankison was charged at the state level in 2020 with wanton endangerment for firing bullets that went into an apartment neighboring Taylor's that was occupied by three people, and a jury acquitted him in March. What happened to Breonna Taylor?Breonna Taylor died after several LMPD officers forced their way into her southwest Louisville apartment with a battering ram around 12:40 a.m. March 13, 2020, with a search warrant to look for drugs and cash as part of a larger narcotics investigation connected to her ex-boyfriend, Jamarcus Glover. Breonna Taylor fact check:Separating the rumors from the factsTaylor’s boyfriend at the time of her death, Kenneth Walker, fired a single shot from his legally owned handgun at the door as officers busted it down, telling investigators later that he feared intruders, not police, were breaking in. Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly was hit by Walker’s shot and fired six rounds in response. Detective Myles Cosgrove fired 16 shots, and Hankison fired 10 shots. Six of those bullets struck Taylor, with Cosgrove firing the fatal shot, the FBI concluded. What has happened since Breonna Taylor's death?The case led cities and states to pass laws banning or limiting no-knock search warrants, and it resulted in various changes and reforms, some still pending, at LMPD following a $12 million settlement the city reached with the Taylor family. In November, the city also settled with Walker for $2 million after he sued Louisville and several of the officers who were part of the 2020 raid.LMPD and Metro Government leaders said the city has made changes and reforms since 2020, including fixes in response to a review of the police department from Chicago-based consulting firm Hillard Heintze.The 2021 report from Hillard Heintze made 102 recommendations to turn around a department it found had failed to establish mutual trust and provide equitable treatment across Louisville's neighborhoods.A dashboard on LMPD's website most recently showed that 37% of the Hillard Heintze recommendations had been "implemented" and 47% were "in process," with others still under review.Breonna Taylor shootingA 2-year timeline shows how her death has changed usCity officials estimated in 2021 that reforms at LMPD prompted by the DOJ investigation could cost Louisville up to $10 million annually, and the city directed some federal American Rescue Plan funds to that area. The changes have already included a new Accountability and Improvement Bureau at LMPD and launch of an early warning system for officers after years of delays.This story will be updated.
DOJ’s report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social media
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the findings of a sweeping investigation of Louisville's police department on Wednesday, the result of a nearly two-year probe following the killing of Breonna Taylor.The investigation, announced in April 2021 after nearly a year of protests over Taylor's killing at the hands of LMPD officers, aimed to assess "all types of force" used by local police, including potential violations of the First Amendment, whether the department engages in discriminatory policing and whether it worked in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.Live updates:Findings of federal investigation into LMPD after Breonna Taylor's killing coming WednesdayTwitter reaction to LMPD, Breonna Taylor findings