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. 

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 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 [email protected]; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed its investigative report into the Louisville Police Department Wednesday, which found reasonable cause to believe city government and the department "engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law."What are the main seven findings of the DOJ report into Louisville police?LMPD uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers.LMPD conducts searches based on invalid warrants.LMPD unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing.LMPD unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including traffic and pedestrian stops.LMPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities.LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.Louisville Metro and LMPD discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisisHere are more details from those seven findings:'LMPD uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers'The DOJ found LMPD officers use "excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment" and "routinely use force disproportionate to the threat or resistance posed."The report also found a lack of clear policy or property oversight in cases of excessive force, as "in the majority of the problematic incidents we evaluated, supervisors reviewed the conduct at issue but failed to identify the misconduct."Specific incidents in the report included dangerous neck restraints, police dogs against people who pose nothreat, with dogs continuing to bite people after they surrender.More:DOJ's report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social mediaThe report also details "unreasonable and unsafe" use of tasers, the use of "takedowns, strikes, and other bodily force in ways that are unnecessary and unlawful" and "escalating behavior that startles, confuses, or angers theindividuals they encounter."'LMPD conducts searches based on invalid warrants'The report found that LMPD "engages in a pattern or practice of seeking search warrants in ways that deprive individuals of their rights under the Fourth Amendment."It added that "a significant number" of the department's search warrant applications "fail to satisfy theconstitutional requirement of being supported by 'probable cause.'"The report detailed specific examples of how these applications "frequently lack the specificity and detail necessary to establish probable cause for the search, are typically overly broad in scope, and fail to establish probable cause for searching everything and everyone listed in the warrant."'LMPD unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing'The report found that when executing search warrants on private homes, LMPD officers "regularly fail to knock and announce their presence," adding "these unlawful practices endanger both officers and members of the public."A review of warrants executed on residences from 2016 through 2021 found LMPD rarely (only 2.5% of the time) requested judicial authorization to execute a warrant without knocking and announcing, but they "still entered homes without knocking and announcing in more than half of the warrant executions we reviewed."The report found those unlawful warrant executions "are the result of poor planning, supervision, andoversight," with the "routine failure to hold officers accountable for failing to complete risk matricesputs officers and the public in needlessly dangerous situations."More:What they said: Notable quotes on Louisville police investigation'LMPD unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including traffic and pedestrian stops'The DOJ found LMPD officers "unlawfully stop, frisk, detain, search, and arrest people during street enforcement activities, such as traffic and pedestrian stops," with these "intrusive encounters" violating the rights of people throughout the city.Documenting different incidents of "unlawful street encounters," the report added that they "are more than mere inconveniences — they can be invasive and humiliating" and "undermine public safety by poisoning the relationship between the police and community."Related:Louisville police promised reforms on traffic stops. Is profiling still happening?'LMPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities'The DOJ found reasonable cause to believe LMPD "engages in racial discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Safe Streets Act," as Black people "disproportionately experience" the conduct criticized throughout the report.This includes officers disproportionately stopping Black drivers for minor traffic offenses and conducting searches, as well as prolonged detentions and arrests for marijuana possession and other minor misdemeanors.The report noted one case where an officer described a Black teenager as a “wild animal that needs to be put down.""In sum, LMPD’s inadequate and dismissive response to racial bias signals that discrimination is tolerated," stated the report. "LMPD’s tolerance of explicit racial bias within its ranks is further evidence of unlawful discrimination."'LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing'The report found LMPD "often responds aggressively to police-related speech, including by taking actions that could deter a person from criticizing police or assembling in a group to do so."While protests about policing can "pose unique challenges for law enforcement," the report adds that "these factors do not make police protests so inherently violent, lawless, or dangerous as to be entitled less First Amendment protection."'Louisville Metro and LMPD discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisis'The report found LMPD violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by their responses to people with behavioral health disabilities."LMPD fails to reasonably accommodate individuals with behavioral health disabilities during encounters, leading to needless escalation, use of force, avoidable arrest, and serious injury," the report stated. "This discrimination can be avoided through expansion of current Louisville Metro programs, and reasonable modifications of LMPD’s and MetroSafe’s policies and practices."Reach reporter Joe Sonka at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.

Nearly two years after announcing plans to investigate Louisville Metro and LMPD in the aftermath of the killing of Breonna Taylor, the U.S. Department of Justice released its scathing report Wednesday.The report is 90 pages long, with a lengthy list of reported violations. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland was set to discuss the release at a press conference Wednesday in downtown Louisville.The report includes 36 recommended remedial measures as well, closing by noting the department "has reasonable cause to believe that Louisville Metro and LMPD engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law. Louisville Metro’s and LMPD’s unlawful practices harm community members and undermine public safety.""We look forward to working with city and police leaders, officers, and the broader Louisville community to stop the unlawful practices, build trust, and ensure that Louisville Metro and LMPD serve and protect the people of Louisville," it concludes.Check out the full report here.View in new tab

The U.S. Department of Justice revealed its investigative report into the Louisville Metro Police Department Wednesday, which found reasonable cause to believe city government and the department "engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law."What are the main seven findings of the DOJ report into Louisville police?LMPD uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers.LMPD conducts searches based on invalid warrants.LMPD unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing.LMPD unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including traffic and pedestrian stops.LMPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities.LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.Louisville Metro and LMPD discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisisHere are more details from those seven findings:'LMPD uses excessive force, including unjustified neck restraints and the unreasonable use of police dogs and tasers'The DOJ found that LMPD officers use "excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment" and "routinely use force disproportionate to the threat or resistance posed."The report also found a lack of clear policy or property oversight in cases of excessive force, as "in the majority of the problematic incidents we evaluated, supervisors reviewed the conduct at issue but failed to identify the misconduct."Specific incidents in the report included dangerous neck restraints, police dogs against people who pose nothreat, with dogs continuing to bite people after they surrender.More:DOJ's report into Louisville police: How people are responding on social mediaThe report also details "unreasonable and unsafe" use of tasers, the use of "takedowns, strikes, and other bodily force in ways that are unnecessary and unlawful" and "escalating behavior that startles, confuses, or angers theindividuals they encounter."'LMPD conducts searches based on invalid warrants'The report found that LMPS "engages in a pattern or practice of seeking search warrants in ways that deprive individuals of their rights under the Fourth Amendment."It added that "a significant number" of the department's search warrant applications "fail to satisfy theconstitutional requirement of being supported by 'probable cause.'"The report detailed specific examples of how these applications "frequently lack the specificity and detail necessary to establish probable cause for the search, are typically overly broad in scope, and fail to establish probable cause for searching everything and everyone listed in the warrant."'LMPD unlawfully executes search warrants without knocking and announcing'The report found that when executing search warrants on private homes, LMPD officers "regularly fail to knock and announce their presence," adding that "these unlawful practices endanger both officers and members of the public."A review of warrants executed on residences from 2016 through 2021 found that LMPD rarely (only 2.5% of the time) requested judicial authorization to execute a warrant without knocking and announcing, but they "still entered homes without knocking and announcing in more than half of the warrant executions we reviewed."The report found that unlawful warrant executions "are the result of poor planning, supervision, andoversight," with the "routine failure to hold officers accountable for failing to complete risk matricesputs officers and the public in needlessly dangerous situations."More:What they said: Notable quotes on Louisville police investigation'LMPD unlawfully stops, searches, detains, and arrests people during street enforcement activities, including traffic and pedestrian stops'The DOJ found that LMPD officers "unlawfully stop, frisk, detain, search, and arrest people during street enforcement activities, such as traffic and pedestrian stops," with these "intrusive encounters" violating the rights of people throughout the city.Documenting different incidents of "unlawful street encounters," the report added that they "are more than mere inconveniences — they can be invasive and humiliating" and "undermine public safety by poisoning the relationship between the police and community."Related:Louisville police promised reforms on traffic stops. Is profiling still happening?'LMPD unlawfully discriminates against Black people in its enforcement activities'The DOJ found reasonable cause to believe LMPD "engages in racial discrimination in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Safe Streets Act," as Black people "disproportionately experience" the conduct criticized throughout the report.This includes officers disproportionately stopping Black drivers for minor traffic offenses and conducting searches, as well as prolonged detentions and arrests for marijuana possession and other minor misdemeanors.The report noted one case where an officer described a Black teenager as a “wild animal that needs to be put down.""In sum, LMPD’s inadequate and dismissive response to racial bias signals that discrimination is tolerated," stated the report. "LMPD’s tolerance of explicit racial bias within its ranks is further evidence of unlawful discrimination."'LMPD violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing'The report found that LMPD "often responds aggressively to police-related speech, including by taking actions that could deter a person from criticizing police or assembling in a group to do so."While protests about policing can "pose unique challenges for law enforcement," the report adds that "these factors do not make police protests so inherently violent, lawless, or dangerous as to be entitled less First Amendment protection."'Louisville Metro and LMPD discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when responding to them in crisis'The report found LMPD violates the Americans with Disabilities Act by their responses to people with behavioral health disabilities."LMPD fails to reasonably accommodate individuals with behavioral health disabilities during encounters, leading to needless escalation, use of force, avoidable arrest, and serious injury," the report stated. "This discrimination can be avoided through expansion of current Louisville Metro programs, and reasonable modifications of LMPD’s and MetroSafe’s policies and practices."Reach reporter Joe Sonka at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka.