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’20 steps ahead’ of the competition: Ariel Thompson struts into role as Miss Black Kentucky

By |2022-10-21T06:26:56-04:00October 21st, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

Ariel Thompson has proven she's ready for the spotlight.The Bluegrass State's new Miss Black Kentucky USA was crowned earlier this month, winning the "Miss Division" competition at the pageant on Oct. 9. Thompson is one of three Miss Black Kentucky division winners, along with Teen Division winner Nia Franklin and Ms. Division winner Dominique Joy Thompson. The trio were among 15 women and girls who showcased their talents for a chance at prizes, a $5,000 scholarship and a historic pageant title.The event ― which took place this year for the first time in at least a decade ― was hosted at the Louisville Memorial Auditorium and welcomed Black women to compete as themselves, regardless of who they are or where they've come from. About 250 friends and family members were in the crowd, said Ashley Anderson, executive director of Miss Black Kentucky.And Thompson, who took home the title, said her crowning moment came against all odds.An HBCU grad with big dreamsThompson was born and raised in Louisville's West End, an area she still calls home. The 24-year-old pageant winner was raised by her grandparents ― and that means she's no stranger to adversity, she said."I was facing a lot of statistics, and I was constantly told 'You fall into this category,'" Thompson said.You may like:No one laughed when heckler threw a beer can at a Kentucky comedian – until she chugged itBut when Thompson looked at what was possible in her own life, she said, she saw much more.Thompson left the West End to attend Kentucky State University, a historically Black university in Frankfort, where she earned a bachelor's degree in mass communication with a minor in speech communications. Nowadays, Thompson works at Simmons College, Louisville's only historically Black college, as a residence life coordinator.Her background continues to shape her life and her ambitions.In February, Thompson announced on Instagram that she plans to publish a children's book about grandparents raising their young grandchildren. It's one of four books she said she's working to write that will "cover major issues we face within the Black community that we find difficult to discuss with children."A system not made for Black womenThompson has a list of titles she could rattle off from past pageants. She was first runner-up at her first pageant, Miss Black and Gold at Kentucky State, a top-15 finisher in Miss Kentucky pageants in 2021 and 2022 and second runner-up at Miss Kentucky Earth, which works to bring awareness to environmental issues.But the role models in her life, she said, are the reason she's found success on the stage.Anderson, Miss Black Kentucky's executive director, has been a major inspiration, she said, and the two have a lot in common.Anderson, like Thompson, grew up in the West End and has a long history in pageantry. She once competed in Miss Black USA as Miss Black Ohio, she said, where she was fourth runner-up. It was a rewarding experience, she said, but not as rewarding as connecting with other Black women with similar goals and values.Breonna Taylor:Kenneth Walker says on night of Breonna Taylor's death, his only crime was 'being Black'Anderson knew Kentucky needed an opportunity for girls and women like Thompson to compete as well. Miss Black Kentucky, she said, was her way of using her experience as "a little girl on Eighteenth and Hill Street with not a whole lot of hope and role models" to uplift other Black women and give them the same opportunities of "empowering the community."And Thompson, like Anderson, said she was often the only Black woman in pageants she'd previously competed in. Miss Black Kentucky, she said, has been a chance for her and other Black women to build a supportive community."I didn't always want to be patronized," Thompson said. "I didn't always want to be looked at as an anomaly ... while I'm just trying to make a difference."Facing extra judgment is taxing, she added. "You always have to be 20 steps ahead just to become noticed ― not to win, but to be noticed.""I've had coaches I've had to drop because of microaggressions and comments towards Black women, or even comments towards me, about my hair being too big," Thompson said.Thompson said her experience as a Black woman ― and as a Black woman in Louisville ― has shaped her, though. And she brings that experience to the stage.At the Miss Black Kentucky pageant earlier this month, Thompson used the talent portion of her show to honor Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot and killed by Louisville Metro Police officers serving a no-knock warrant at her apartment in 2020. She speed-painted a portrait of Taylor in 90 seconds during the show, as "Stand Up" by Cynthia Erivo played."Far across the river, do you hear freedom calling?" its lyrics read. "Calling me to answer, gonna keep on going."What's next for Miss Black Kentucky?Miss Black Kentucky USA gave Thompson a place to "actually bond with other contestants" for the first time in her pageant experience, she told The Courier Journal. The event puts the challenges Black women face in pageantry to the forefront of conversations, she added.Personal experience led her to base her pageantry platform around mental health. Her grandparents enrolled her in therapy at a young age, she said, which molded Thompson into a strong advocate for counseling.Thompson hosts mentorship events for young women and girls and collaborates with organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs of America along with local churches to host them, she said.One of her favorites, Thompson said, is called "Girl Code," with attendees from 4 years old to 40. The yearly event focuses on fostering positive mental health for Black girls and women, Thompson said, and participants use vision boards to illustrate how they can achieve their goals ― regardless of where they're from.Opinion:Why these Black women of Louisville are our city's superheroesThompson's passion for mentorship and mental health inspires her career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist, she said, but for now, she's ready to step up as Miss Black Kentucky USA. She'll go to Washington, D.C. next August to represent the Bluegrass State at Miss Black USA.Her story, she said should show girls and women that they should pursue their dreams, regardless of what others say."That doesn't matter. What matters is what's in your heart and what's in your mind and what you put your mind to," Thompson said.Contact reporter Rae Johnson at [email protected]. Follow them on Twitter at @RaeJ_33.

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Ex-LMPD detectives sentenced to federal prison for throwing drinks at West End residents

By |2022-10-19T14:40:25-04:00October 19th, 2022|Breonna Taylor, David McAtee, Election 2020|

A federal judge sentenced Wednesday two former Louisville Metro Police detectives who threw slushies and drinks from unmarked squad cars at residents in the West End. One of the detectives was also sentenced in an unrelated cyberstalking case.Bryan Andrew Wilson and Curt Flynn had each pleaded guilty in June to one count of conspiracy to violate the civil rights of pedestrians through arbitrary use of force, a felony. Wilson also pleaded guilty to cyberstalking charges after using data software made available to him while he was an officer to hack the Snapchat accounts of several women to steal explicit material of them then use it against them.Flynn was sentenced to three months in prison, while Wilson was given 30 months in prison for his charges. The pair were each also sentenced to three years supervised release and 120 hours of community service.Wilson, 36, had faced a combined maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine on both cases. Flynn, 40, had faced up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.More headlines:BETWEEN THE LINES: A Courier Journal investigation into literacy among Kentucky kidsWilson and Flynn were detectives in the Ninth Mobile Division from August 2018 through September 2019 when the U.S. Department of Justice said they threw large beverages, including the container, at unnamed civilians walking in the predominantly Black neighborhoods of the West End.The two — joined by others who were not named by the DOJ — threw the drinks while dressed in LMPD uniforms and riding in unmarked police vehicles. They would bring the beverages into their cars, identify a target and then drive closer to the person before throwing the drinks after announcing on the police radio that "someone was thirsty," or "thirsty fam," according to federal prosecutors.After throwing the beverage, the driver of the LMPD vehicle would flee the scene. On many occasions, civilians were hit with the beverage, and in at least one instance, a person was knocked down after being hit, according to the DOJ.The DOJ's news release that announced the guilty pleas earlier this year said the assaults were also recorded either by the detectives or others participating, "sometimes from inside the car from which the beverage was thrown, and sometimes from an LMPD car following closely behind the car from which the beverage was thrown."Wilson would then show the videos to other members of LMPD's Ninth Mobile Division, a citywide violent crime unit that was created in 2015 and came under scrutiny amid several lawsuits alleging it pulled over Black drivers for minor violations (such as a wide turn that officers accused teenager Tae-Ahn Lea of making in 2018) and searched — with little to no evidence — for weapons and drugs."The conduct Bryan Wilson, Curt Flynn and others engaged in, while acting under color of law, was deliberative and malicious, and it shocked the conscience," federal prosecutors wrote in court documents.L. Scott Miller, Flynn's attorney, had asked for three years of probation, noting in court filings that Flynn "served with distinction" in the Air Force for about 20 years, including two tours of duty in Kyrgyzstan and Iraq, before joining the Air National Guard and then LMPD. Flynn's wife, Jade, also testified and wrote a letter describing the ex-detective as "a devoted husband" and father of three children."Flynn’s conduct here was inexcusable, but it should not completely overlook the years of diligent service he completed," Miller wrote in a memo filed ahead of the sentencing hearing. "He has always provided for his family, cared for his children, and served his community. As ... letters from service members who knew Flynn personally attest, Flynn has made mistakes but can still have a positive effect on others including his family and community."LMPD Chief Erika Shields said earlier this year she would initiate an internal investigation to determine how much other officers knew about and how involved they were in drink-throwing incidents."I want to make it clear to everyone, the actions of former Detectives Flynn and Wilson are reprehensible, sickening, and do not reflect the core values of LMPD," Shields said in June. "Their behavior was demoralizing and dehumanizing to the victims. On behalf of this agency, I wish to express my sincere apologies to those affected. This type of behavior will not be tolerated. We owe our community better and this is not representative of the good work the men and women of LMPD strive for every day."The drink-throwing incidents first became public in June 2021, when Shields told Metro Council members the FBI was investigating the behavior, calling it "another black eye to the department."Shields said at the time that the officers had been reassigned to desk duty as the federal investigation was underway. The chief later said Flynn, who joined LMPD in 2010, resigned from the department after his guilty plea in federal court and that Wilson, who joined LMPD in 2011, had resigned in July 2020 due to a separate criminal investigation.While court documents only referred to victims as "John Does and Jane Does," Jefferson Circuit Judge Jessica Green offered more context in 2021, when she was the Metro Council representative for the various West End neighborhoods included in District 1."I am very disturbed about the idea of narcotics detectives throwing snowcones on homeless Black people in West Louisville," Green previously said. "I hope nobody makes excuses for that kind of behavior." Using law enforcement access to cyberstalkIn the separate case, Wilson pleaded guilty and admitted to stealing compromising photos and videos of at least six female victims, then sending them text messages in which he threatened to publish them unless they sent more material to him, according to the federal government.He was able to steal the photos by abusing his powers and using the powerful data-combining software, Accurint – which he was given access to while still working for the department. The cyberstalking happened between September and October 2020, though he resigned from the department in June of that year due to the slushie-throwing investigation.More than the threats, a federal court document states that Wilson did publish some of the explicit material and sent insulting messages to the victims."Wilson caused his victims untold psychological trauma, not only by extorting them and publishing their explicit photographs and videos online, but also by demeaning and insulting them during his text exchanges, calling them sluts, whores, and b****es," the document states.In one case, a victim almost lost her job after Wilson sent her boss explicit content of her, the document states.Louisville police officers in court:These are the ex-LMPD officers charged by feds with unlawful forceWhile the DOJ has conducted a wide-ranging "pattern-or-practice" investigation into LMPD, the federal government has also charged several other now-former officers with civil rights offenses related to the beating of a kneeling, unarmed protester and the shooting of pepperballs at the niece of David McAtee before police and National Guard members fatally shot the West End barbecue stand owner in June 2020.In addition, the DOJ announced indictments in August against four ex-LMPD personnel accused of lying on the drug-related search warrant or firing bullets that went into a neighboring apartment during the raid at Breonna Taylor's home that killed the 26-year-old Black woman in March 2020.Kelly Hanna Goodlett, one of the former detectives indicted in August who has pleaded guilty to helping falsify an affidavit used to search Taylor's apartment, had also been named, but not charged, in the federal investigation into Flynn and Wilson throwing drinks at residents.Reporter Krista Johnson contributed to this story. Reach Billy Kobin at [email protected]

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AMPED's Dave Christopher focused on growing, uplifting Black businesses in Louisville

By |2022-10-19T05:24:31-04:00October 19th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

Dave Christopher stumbled into the nonprofit world back in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since.It was then that the self-professed "serial entrepreneur" launched a recording studio business, inspired by the bond with his son over music, to help generate money for a friend’s nonprofit.That effort soon spun into AMPED, or the Academy of Music Production Education and Development, a nonprofit focused on tapping into youths’ creativity to help them become healthy, productive community members.What began as a two-week summer camp has turned into a year-round music academy, not to mention a technology workforce training program and a business incubator.  "We’ve created this thing that we refer to as the ecosystem of building communities from within," Christopher said. “All of the things that we do are connected.”The founder and executive director has tried to organically grow and diversify the nonprofit by listening to the needs of the people he’s serving. Working with kids led to helping their families which grew into strengthening the communities in which they all reside."If your focus is kids, well guess what, if we get those parents straight, then the kids are straight," he said. "If it's business, get the businesses straight, then we got the community straight, which means the kids and the parents are straight."Kim Hales, newly hired director of advancement, said she saw the wraparound services in action in her first week on the job at the music academy in the Chickasaw neighborhood.  "I think people see it as these separate programs still," Hales said. "But when you see it in action, it makes sense about why all of these things are needed and how that is really a cycle of helping families and the community."Take, for example, the Technology Workforce Development Program, which launched in 2018 to address racial disparities data analytics and data science fields.'200 years behind':Racial wealth gap impedes Black business ownership in LouisvillePart of the goal was to establish pathways to good careers without a college degree, a path Christopher knows well.Christopher grew up in poverty in Gary, Indiana, to parents who didn’t finish high school. College was never on the table, and the military became his pathway to a better life. He taught himself technology skills, an asset that helped him launch his own business two decades ago. It wasn't until 40 that he earned a college degree.  He recalled a recent email from a young woman who went through AMPED’s IT training program. After a year at Humana as a data analyst, she was promoted to data scientist making more than $75,000 yearly."That's the difference, right?" Christopher said. "None of the stuff we do is about … bragging on what we did and taking pictures and going on our way and the people that we serve are still in the same place."Launching the business incubatorAMPED launched a business incubator in 2020, a year-long program focusing on supporting and growing Black- and Latinx-owned businesses. It’s an initiative that, for Christopher, was born of the traumas of that year.Between the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, Christopher said he wanted to turn his pain into something meaningful for his community.At the time, he was reading about the state of Black businesses in Louisville. Less than 3% of businesses were owned by Black residents, according to city data, despite making up 23% of the county’s population."Economic empowerment, ownership, equals independence," he said. "You’ve got to own some stuff. And one of the things we thought that was how do we keep money in the community?"As protestors were pounding the pavement around Jefferson Square Park, Christopher was drafting plans to uplift his community through entrepreneurship, trying to leverage the moment."What I was determined to do was not let this moment go to waste," Christopher said. "My thinking was I want to create as much as I can, as quickly as I can, that you can't take back, because I know that you're gonna go back to business as usual."Growing Black businessesFirst Black business tech incubator in west Louisville aims to bridge disparitiesIn the following months, millions in donations (which Christopher calls investments) started pouring in from the likes of Humana, Yum Brands, Brown-Forman, U.S. Bank and The Rockefeller Foundation to help support the incubator, which includes access to coaching, stipends, seed capital and development classes.Three years later, AMPED recently opened applications to the third class of its Russell Technology Business Incubator.From a waitlist of 600, 120 applicants filed within the first 36 hours, Hales said. Thirty-four businesses will ultimately be selected for the next cohort."The growth is big, and it's fast and it's innovative," she said. "But it's all sort of drawn out of what has the community needed…it’s all grown from within."Innovation Center coming to West BroadwayThe latest AMPED venture is the Innovation Center, an arts-focused creative hub to be housed at 2500 W. Broadway, which AMPED bought earlier this year for nearly $1.06 million.Christopher said the building was the city’s first black-owned car dealership, Bob Smith Chevrolet, and he plans on honoring the space’s history by preserving and restoring as much as he can.The first phase of the project was securing two tenants in the space to keep rental income flowing. JCPS’s Elev8 student learning center and the University of Louisville’s Change Lab occupy roughly a third of the space.  West End track complexBlack-owned businesses in Louisville gain new space to workA second phase, still in fundraising mode, will be renovating the building for its new role as an innovation center, which will include a business incubator focused on visual and performing arts, an event space and music academy programming to include a recording and podcast studio.Despite the newest endeavor and the progress in less than a decade, Christopher said he still gets what he calls the “3:30 a.m. wake-up.”“If anything keeps me up at night, which sometimes it does, it’s that we're not doing enough, and we can't do what we need to do faster,” he said.Christopher is quick to credit his team and supporters throughout Louisville as a key factor to AMPED’s mark on the city. He doesn’t seem too focused on his own legacy; there’s too much to be done right now. But thinking ahead, he does have hope for the future.“It sounds kind of morbid, but if I am able to erase the Ninth Street Divide and die shortly after…" he said. "I tell people I want to play this Jedi mind trick where you're driving west and you don't even realize how far until you hit the water."Business reporter Matthew Glowicki can be reached at [email protected], 502-582-4000 or on Twitter @mattglo. 

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Kenneth Walker says on night of Breonna Taylor's death, his only crime was 'being Black'

By |2022-10-12T15:45:49-04:00October 12th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

Kenneth Walker, the former boyfriend of Breonna Taylor who was with her when she was killed by police, told Red Table Talk hosts he believes "the only crime I committed that night was being Black."In an interview with the talk show by Jada Pinkett Smith that aired Wednesday, Walker, who was joined by Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer and sister Juniyah Palmer, told hosts the story that upended his life – Louisville Metro Police officers on the scene that night did not identify themselves as police before entering the apartment, he said, and he fired the gun that he owned legally at officers because he thought if they were police, they would have said so before entering the residence.LMPD officers had a no-knock warrant that night and have said they announced their presence before entering the residence. Several neighbors have said they did not hear police announce themselves before the shooting.Related headlines:How the FOP, a social justice group and a city came together to create police reformWalker was arrested and charged with assault and attempted murder in the aftermath of the event, as a bullet he fired hit then-LMPD Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. Those charges were dismissed with prejudice in March 2021.Taylor's mother said police fired dozens of bullets during the interaction, and if Walker, the lone witness, had not survived, "we probably would have never known what happened that night."Taylor was shot and killed by police in March 2020, which sparked a large protest movement against police violence in Louisville and around the country. Only one person was charged at the state level – former LMPD officer Brett Hankison, who was found not guilty of wanton endangerment over bullets he fired that entered other nearby apartments.Federal charges, meanwhile, were filed about two months ago against four current and former LMPD officers accused of violating Taylor's civil rights, amid accusations they lied in the search warrant that allowed them to enter the apartment and had obstructed an investigation into the case. One former officer, Kelly Goodlett, has pleaded guilty to helping falsify an affidavit for the search of the apartment. Hankison was also federally charged over accusations he put Taylor's neighbors in danger.Others are reading:Now up for auction, with no floor for bids: Most expensive home on the Louisville marketLMPD is also being sued by The 490 Project in a lawsuit filed last week over accusations the department violated state law by illegally withholding and destroying records potentially related to Taylor's case.The complete Red Table Talk interview can be seen on Facebook Watch.Contact Caleb Stultz at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Caleb_Stultz.

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Breonna Taylor's family to appear Wednesday on Red Table Talk. Check out the preview

By |2022-10-12T12:33:27-04:00October 12th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

Breonna Taylor's mother, sister and former boyfriend Kenneth Walker are set to join Jada Pinkett Smith's Red Table Talk on Wednesday on Facebook Watch.The episode is titled “How the Police Killed Breonna Taylor: The Only Witness Speaks Out," with a release sent earlier this week noting the show will include Walker, "the only witness to Breonna Taylor’s death at the hands of police," explaining "what really happened that tragic night."In a clip released before the episode was published, Smith's daughter, Willow Smith, asks the trio how any of the actions that took place the night of Taylor's death were justified.Breonna Taylor case:NAACP says Attorney General Daniel Cameron must resign or be impeached over caseWalker, who was with Taylor at the time of the fatal shooting, said he was a legal gun owner at the time of the event and shot at police who had entered the apartment to protect his residence. Walker has previously said he never heard the Louisville Metro Police officers who were on the scene that night announce they were police before entering the apartment."I think the only crime I committed that night was being Black," Walker, who was joined by Taylor's mother Tamika Palmer and sister Juniyah Palmer on the show, said in the clip.The episode is set to air Wednesday at noon. Check out the preview clip here:Taylor was shot and killed by Louisville police in March 2020, which to a large protest movement against police violence in Louisville and around the country. Only one person was charged at the state level – former LMPD officer Brett Hankison, who was found not guilty of wanton endangerment over bullets he fired that entered other nearby apartments.Federal charges, meanwhile, were filed about two months ago against four current and former LMPD officers accused of violating Taylor's civil rights, amid accusations they lied in the search warrant that allowed them to enter the apartment and had obstructed an investigation into the case. One former officer, Kelly Goodlett, has pleaded guilty to helping falsify an affidavit for the search of the apartment. Hankison was also federally charged over accusations he put Taylor's neighbors in danger.Others are reading:Now up for auction, with no floor for bids: Most expensive home on the Louisville marketLMPD is also being sued by The 490 Project in a lawsuit filed last week over accusations the department violated state law by illegally withholding and destroying records potentially related to Taylor's case.Watch the Red Table Talk including close family members of Breonna Taylor at noon on Facebook Watch.Contact Caleb Stultz at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Caleb_Stultz.

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How the FOP, a social justice group and a city came together to create police reform

By |2022-10-12T09:27:50-04:00October 12th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

They wanted a seat at the table.They walked in the streets.They demanded change.They waited.Those words could describe the people who protested following the death of Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman Louisville police officers shot to death while serving a “no-knock” search warrant at her apartment in 2020.More:Breonna Taylor shooting: A minute-by-minute timeline of the events that led to her deathNot this time.This time they describe shootings and subsequent protests that happened before Taylor was born, and again when she was 3 and when she was 5 — all in a city where she didn’t live: Cincinnati.Between 1995 and 2001, Cincinnati police shot and killed 15 Black men.Like Louisville, Cincinnati faced a Department of Justice investigation into its policing practices. But in response, Cincinnati created a first-of-its-kind police reform model that could help Louisville as it awaits the DOJ's report on its policing practices, including use of force and concerns about discriminatory policing.The DOJ announced its investigation of Louisville Metro Police in April 2021, after Taylor's death and monthslong racial justice protests. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer said last month the DOJ report is expected in the "coming weeks."The Cincinnati Police Department went through its investigation 21 years ago. The Department of Justice came in, reviewed policies and was about to hand down changes when a civil rights lawyer and a civil rights activist offered an invitation to the city and the Fraternal Order of Police to collaborate.Instead of people from outside the community issuing a consent decree, the stakeholders of Cincinnati − the city, the FOP and the ACLU − hashed out their goals for police reform, creating the Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement. A federal judge oversaw the agreement, which initially focused on use of force and discriminatory policing but later became a proactive and transparent way for all sides to discuss needed changes and adjust local policies and procedures based on issues in other cities.The collaborative agreement, which ended in 2007 with the Cincinnati police department meeting 93% of the terms and conditions, is held up today as a gold standard for use of force and police accountability reform and is the only time the DOJ combined its agreement with a private one. Louisville FOP President Dave Mutchler said he's interested in seeing if such a collaboration would be accepted today.The FOP is "always interested in having a seat at the table that would be trying to solve a problem that affects everybody in the community," Mutchler said.More:Are Department of Justice investigations a path to police reform or 'a war on cops'?Raymond Burse, chair of legal redress for the NAACP Louisville Branch, said while on its face the agreement sounds good, the NAACP has questions about it."Our question is given that the police bill of rights is statutory in Kentucky – how agreeing to anything would in fact work when we have those kinds of prohibitions?" Burse said.Jessica Wethington, director of communications for the Louisville mayor's office, said Fischer and his team "have worked with protest leaders, the FOP and community organizations on more than 150 ongoing changes" related to policing.Usually when the DOJ finds systemic police misconduct, it negotiates a settlement with the city or county that lists specific remedies, which are included in a consent decree that a federal judge oversees.In Cincinnati, it took a civil rights duo and another death of an unarmed Black man to pull off a different type of agreement.More deaths and no progressTwo in 24.That’s what the community calls the incident in Cincinnati when twounarmed Black men were killed in 24 hours.The first death came on Nov. 7, 2000.Roger Owensby Jr. served for eight years in the U.S. Army and died allegedly of asphyxiation from a chokehold of a Cincinnati Police officer.The next day, Jeffrey Irons died in a scuffle with police.Neither officer was charged.Civil rights lawyer Al Gerhardstein was hired to represent several victims' families.“The Black community was just boiling,” Gerhardstein recalled. “They were tired of it. They couldn’t understand why we made no progress with police violence against citizens, and yet there just wasn’t any end in sight to feeling safe in our own community."When the Black community got really upset, there would be protests and then there would be violence, targeting the police. Then that would wake people up wearing the suits.More:10 years and $100M later, DOJ-mandated police reforms still ongoing in this city"They would call for a blue-ribbon panel, the blue-ribbon panel would have a couple business people on it, a couple ministers on it, maybe one or two Black business people as well. They would hold meetings that seemed designed to wait out the angst of the community.“And once people lost their fervor and their interest in the problem, the blue ribbon panel would come out with a set of recommendations.”Those recommendations were rarely implemented.The Black community and police: 33 years of historyShortly after the deaths of Owensby Jr. and Irons, Gerhardstein showed up at New Prospect Baptist Church in the Roselawn neighborhood, just north of downtown Cincinnati. He brought three white binders with him.Iris Roley, then the program director for the Cincinnati Black United Front, a social justice collective, was floored by what Gerhardstein had inside those three-ring binders: 33 years of history between the Black community and the police and every blue-ribbon panel report.“Thirty-three years of trauma, of fights,” Roley said. “Thirteen different blue ribbon panels. Thirteen separate sets of promises that were broken. And not to give us what we needed to move forward, but just to appease.”Families of those who had been killed had begged the DOJ to investigate Cincinnati police. Even the Sentinels, Cincinnati's Black officers' group, had requested a federal investigation nearly a year before the Two in 24. But they didn't come.Instead, Gerhardstein worked with local attorneys Ken Lawson and Scott Greenwood who used those reports to draft a class-action lawsuit on behalf of the Cincinnati Black United Front and the ACLU.It also cited ongoing evidence of racial profiling after a statistician reviewed all the traffic tickets issued in previous years for the number of Black people stopped and the locations, proving the disparity of traffic enforcement in Cincinnati.When they filed the lawsuit, Gerhardstein extended an invitation to the city.“We invited the city and the FOP to join us in a community-wide collaboration," Gerhardstein said. "The only condition we put on this offer was whatever happens, it’s got to end with a court order. We don't want another blue ribbon panel. We don't want another handshake.”Then came the 15th death of an unarmed Black man: Timothy Thomas.The city erupted. The mayor invited the Department of Justice to Cincinnati to investigate for civil rights violations.This is where Cincinnati diverged from other cities whose police departments had a pattern or practice investigation by the Department of Justice. U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott merged Gerhardstein's racial profiling lawsuit with the DOJ investigation's findings.Dlott presided over the negotiations as all sides came to four central terms:Bias-free policingUse of force reform, including less-lethal responseAccountability - including rapid responseCommunity problem-oriented policing“It was something that was forward thinking,” Roley said of the agreement. ”That we can get out of this conundrum of being victimized and then the oppressor.”More:When the Department of Justice investigates police, here's how it worksThe agreement changed the way Cincinnati police approach a scene. Every officer learns the SARA model: Scan, Analyze, Respond, Assess. It is meant to eliminate knee-jerk reactions."The essence of public safety is the public word," Gerhardstein said. "The metric for public safety is not arrest.  ... In Cincy, we moved away from that as a goal or metric. We say, 'That is not our measure of your performance, but rather it's how well you solve problems.'"The agreement also established a Citizens Complaint Authority, a unit independent of the police department. The unit's director is appointed by the city manager. The staff investigates the police department through local complaints. They have subpoena power. They make recommendations and findings within 90 days, which is before the police chief or the mayor decide on discipline.The process isn't without challenges. The Citizens Complaint Authority have a case backlog that Roley and Gerhardstein are keeping a close eye on.Changes came after Breonna Taylor's deathEven after the Cincinnati agreement ended, the groups continued to make changes.Following Taylor's death, Cincinnati revised its policy on no-knock warrants, making it harder to enter a property without prior notification to confiscate drugs.“Drugs can be seized at any time," Roley said. "So we wanted to add additional provisions before that happened. We wanted to make sure that if you are doing a no-knock warrant, that it is in service to someone in need of help.“That is the beauty of the agreement is being able to build a relationship enough to say, 'Hey, we need to look at this. Nothing happened in Cincinnati, but what happened in Louisville — that could happen in Cincinnati.'”In the last 21 years, Roley estimates the Cincinnati Collaborative Agreement has led to around 1,000 revisions of police policies.“If we could have done this work without the loss of life ... without all the chaos and the trauma," Roley said, "I would take it."Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise reporter at The Courier Journal. Reach her at skuzydym@courier-journal, 513-445-2625 or on Twitter @stephkuzy. 

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Louisville police officer charged with sending nude photos without victim's consent

By |2022-10-11T16:39:01-04:00October 11th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

A Louisville Metro Police officer who had previously been charged in a separate domestic violence case has now been accused of distributing a sexually explicit image without the victim's consent, according to court records.Harry Seeders was arrested Monday, jail records show, and was charged with one count of distribution of sexually explicit images without consent. In his LMPD arrest citation, he's accused of sending an image of an individual's exposed breasts on March 27 to 19 people in a group text message. Acquaintances and friends of the victim were among those who received the image, according to the citation, which said the victim reported the incident to police.Seeders' arraignment is set for 1 p.m. Thursday. According to court records, he posted his $10,000 surety bond Tuesday, the day after the arrest.Related:Experts point to 2 critical decisions of LMPD officer who fatally shot man during traffic stopLMPD spokesperson Aaron Ellis said Seeders was placed on administration leave on Monday "due to the pending criminal charges."Seeders had previously faced separate criminal charges over domestic violence accusations in 2021.In that case, according to court documents, he was accused of hitting the victim in the face before pushing her against a door and putting his hands around her neck for about 30 seconds. Seeders and the woman involved were in a "dating relationship," according to the citation. He was charged with two counts of fourth-degree assault - domestic violence causing minor injury.Seeders is due back in court in that case Wednesday for a pretrial conference, with a jury trial set to begin in November.Seeders was on administrative leave at the time of that incident after fatally shooting 49-year-old Brian Allen Thurman during a traffic stop on Nov. 22, 2020.More:These are the ex-Louisville Metro Police officers charged by feds with unlawful forceMore:'Breonna Taylor should be alive today': 4 current & ex-LMPD officers charged in her deathReach reporter Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

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Louisville Metro Police Department illegally withholding, destroying records, group says

By |2022-10-07T18:30:29-04:00October 7th, 2022|Breonna Taylor, Election 2020|

Louisville Metro Police is being sued over concerns about its record-keeping practices and ability to provide access to public information in a timely manner, a concern that was recently echoed by the state's Attorney General's Office.A lawsuit filed late Wednesday in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of the 490 Project, an organization that focuses on racial equity in Louisville, alleges LMPD has violated state laws in three different ways.The lawsuit claims the violations include:Failing to keep records of complaints made against officers for an adequate length of timeFailing to respond and adhere to requests for public information within the timeframe required by state lawFailing to abide by the Open Records Act by illegally creating definitions of complaints that allow for earlier disposal of recordsRelated news:Louisville Metro falls further behind in releasing public records as Kentucky law requiresClaims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of the case. LMPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment."There is a big trust deficit between the public and LMPD, and LMPD’s refusal to abide by the Open Records Act doesn’t help that deficit," said Rick Adams, the attorney representing the 490 Project in the suit.The 490 Project has spent months trying to gain access to complaints made against LMPD officers, to either be told such records don't exist or to be ignored, according to the suit.In May the group submitted a request for all documents related to complaints - formal or informal - made against LMPD officials since April 1, 2020.For a portion of that time period, LMPD had a policy allowing for the destruction of informal complaints after 90 days - despite a state statute requiring the complaints to be held for two years. No formal complaints should have been destroyed during the time period, due to both LMPD policy and state law.More coverage:Kentucky attorney general finds Louisville violated open records law several timesAnother law requires LMPD to respond to record requests within five days or to acknowledge each request within five days to explain why the deadline won't be met, and to establish a new deadline.Yet, the 490 Project did not hear back for more than two weeks and when the department did respond, it said there were over 300 complaints that needed to be reviewed, researched and redacted before they were disclosed, the suit says. The department stated it would fulfill the request by July, according to the suit.About five months after the initial request and nearly three months after LMPD's self-imposed deadline, the group has not received any records pertaining to the first request nor another three requests made in May and June, according to the lawsuit."It's really important that LMPD abides to the Open Records Act," said Cara Tobe, an organizer of the 490 Project, which was founded in 2020. "Without it, they can operate behind closed doors with no accountability or transparency to the community."Aside from failing to fulfill requests, the suit also takes issue with the department's practice of destroying complaint records against officers and with how the department differentiates between formal and informal complaints.While the state's record retention schedule makes a distinction between the two types of complaints and how long each needs to be kept, the Open Records Act does not, Adams said.It's been the law for decades that agencies can't avoid producing open records by "creating arbitrary labels," he said.Currently, the department is holding onto formal complaints for five years and informal complaints for two years, according to the most recent contract with the local FOP. Those timelines follow the state's retention schedule, but the suit argues all complaints should be kept for five years, given the distinction shouldn't exist, per the records act.More news:As deaths mount, group pushes changes at Louisville jail, while leaders eye new facilityNot holding onto these records, the group is arguing, prevents the department and the public from establishing whether a bad pattern by an employee exists."There's nothing sexy or cool about record retention policies but it's really important," Tobe said. "Without holding onto these records, the general public doesn't know when certain things happen or if red flags are being waived about a bad apple."Without properly maintaining these records and abiding by when the law says they must be released, Tobe said many of the department's wrongdoings would go uncovered."We would have had no idea about the truth behind Breonna Taylor’s murder," she said. "We would have no clue about the Explorer’s program scandal. Journalists won't be able to do their job. The public won’t know" what's going on.The suit is seeking that the department immediately fulfills the group's record requests; pay for costs acquired by the group due to filing the suit; pay the statutory penalty established for violating the Open Records Act; and remove the distinction between formal and informal complaints.This is the second time in a matter of months that the city and LMPD has been scrutinized for its actions relating to open records requests.In August, Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office ruled in favor of The Courier Journal in its appeal that argued Louisville Metro Government violated the Kentucky Open Records Act by failing to respond to requests from Courier Journal reporters six times within the required five days.Five requests were for records from the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and one was for records from LMPD. The city has 90 days − or until mid-November − to appeal the decision.Contact reporter Krista Johnson at [email protected]. 

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Damaged during 2020 protests, will the King Louis XVI statue return to Louisville?

By |2022-10-07T05:53:06-04:00October 7th, 2022|Breonna Taylor|

The statue of King Louis XVI that stood for decades in downtown Louisville before it was damaged during racial justice demonstrations in 2020 may get restored and reappear in the city.But where and when the statue of the French king from whom Louisville gets it name will stand again — if at all — is pas encore connue, or unknown.A public art official told a Metro Council committee on Wednesday that it could cost the city over $200,000 to restore and relocate King Louis XVI.Consultants also have advised Louisville Metro that the statue could be a safety hazard if placed outside, and that also would not be "in the interest of preserving the statue," according to the presentation.Here's a rundown of the latest updates on the statue:What is the history of the King Louis XVI statue in Louisville?First installed on the west lawn of Metro Hall in 1967, the King Louis XVI statue was moved in 1973 to the northeast corner of West Jefferson and South Sixth streets, a gift from Montpellier, Louisville’s sister city in southern France.The 9-ton marble statue of the former king, who helped colonists win the Revolutionary War before his public beheading during the French Revolution, was constructed in 1829 and initially placed in Montpellier's public square, commissioned by the king’s daughter, Maria-Therese. It was removed from the square less than a year later. Louisville Metro's website noted that with "a new branch of the royal Bourbon family on the throne, the statue represented the prior ruling branch that had fallen out of favor."Christy Holly scandal:Racing Louisville FC responds to allegations against ex-coach in NWSL investigationIn 1899, it was "rediscovered in storage during an inventory of a military facility, in damaged condition including a broken arm," per the Louisville Metro website. "The statue passed from the French military to the city’s Mayor and to a university museum. The statue was moved to the basement of a municipal archives building."In 1966, Montpellier offered the statue to Louisville. It was transported aboard the USS Aldebaran, arriving first in Norfolk, Virginia, before arriving in the Derby City via train.Then-Mayor Kenneth A. Schmied worked with a committee to pick a location for the statue, and the Jefferson Fiscal Court passed a resolution in 1967 approving the location outside Metro Hall.Over the years, the statue has received other restoration work, such as to repair a lost foot in 1974.How much could it cost to restore Louisville's King Louis XVI statue?Jessica Kincaide, Louisville Metro's public art administrator, told members of the Community Affairs, Housing, Health and Education Committee that the city spent about $15,000 to get assessments and proposals outlining "technical and ethical challenges" from three conservation labs.The city's expenses related to the statue and figuring out what to do with it have totaled $49,985, and "high-end estimated costs" for remaining work could bump the total to $211,985, according to Kincaide's presentation.Some of those costs would include paint removal and repairs ($44,500), rigging and relocation ($27,500) and new interpretive signage ($10,000).Where could the King Louis XVI statue get relocated?Likely not outside again, if the city listens to the consultants.“The combination of the previous outdoor location and continued cycle of graffiti, damage and subsequent cleaning and repair will reduce the longevity of the piece, which will continue to succumb to the resultant surface erosion and structural damage … the sculpture is very vulnerable to irreparable damage if returned to the same site," the presentation said.Kincaide also shared a note stating there are "few indoor, publicly accessible locations capable of accommodating the size and weight of the statue," but she added mandates from the city's Commission on Public Art mean it should stay viewable to the public and not go in a museum that charges admission.What happened to the King Louis XVI statue during 2020 protests?The statue was removed in September 2020 and placed in storage after its right hand was broken off during the first night of mass protests in May 2020 over the police killing of Breonna Taylor and other Black Americans. The city also said the statue was the target of "multiple incidents of vandalism involving spray paint" later that summer.Breonna Taylor protests:Why charges will not be dropped against hundreds of protesters in Kentucky"After being vandalized, the statue was overcleaned, which damaged the surface of the marble and contributed to possible structural instability throughout the sculpture," Louisville Metro says on its website.Kincaide's presentation to the Metro Council committee said the hand can be repaired "but will remain very fragile."Can residents fill out a survey on the King Louis XVI statue?Louisville residents are encouraged to visit louisvilleky.gov/government/arts-culture/louis-xvi-statue-survey to offer input on the statue.Its connection to the 2020 protests has not gone unnoticed by the city and outside consultants.Conservators consider this statue a contested monument “due to its depiction of a monarch, its presence in a community space, community calls for its removal, in addition to it bearing witness to the Breonna Taylor and Black Lives Matter protests of 2020," according to the presentation.It also mentioned guidelines from the American Institute for the Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works. The guidelines say damage done in the name of social justice also become "part of the meaning of the work."What are the next steps?The city, according to Kincaide, will continue to collect community feedback, with an opportunity to incorporate additional resident engagement into the planning process.Officials will eventually determine whether the statue will be reinstalled, where and in what context, using the survey responses and conservator conversations for input.Bob Baffert lawsuit:'Secret Horsey Stuff' bourbon labels lampooning trainer leads to $50K settlementReach Billy Kobin at [email protected]

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LMPD breaking the law by withholding and destroying records, group says

By |2022-10-06T06:37:14-04:00October 6th, 2022|Breonna Taylor, Election 2020|

Louisville Metro Police is being sued over concerns about its record-keeping practices and ability to provide access to public information in a timely manner, a concern that was recently echoed by the state's Attorney General's Office.A lawsuit filed late Wednesday in Jefferson Circuit Court on behalf of the 490 Project, an organization that focuses on racial equity in Louisville, alleges LMPD has violated state laws in three different ways.The lawsuit claims the violations include:Failing to keep records of complaints made against officers for an adequate length of timeFailing to respond and adhere to requests for public information within the timeframe required by state lawFailing to abide by the Open Records Act by illegally creating definitions of complaints that allow for earlier disposal of recordsRelated news:Louisville Metro falls further behind in releasing public records as Kentucky law requiresClaims made in a lawsuit represent only one side of the case. A comment from LMPD was not immediately available at the time of publication."There is a big trust deficit between the public and LMPD, and LMPD’s refusal to abide by the Open Records Act doesn’t help that deficit," said Rick Adams, the attorney representing the 490 Project in the suit.The 490 Project has spent months trying to gain access to complaints made against LMPD officers, to either be told such records don't exist or to be ignored, according to the suit.In May the group submitted a request for all documents related to complaints - formal or informal - made against LMPD officials since April 1, 2020.For a portion of that time period, LMPD had a policy allowing for the destruction of informal complaints after 90 days - despite a state statute requiring the complaints to be held for two years. No formal complaints should have been destroyed during the time period, due to both LMPD policy and state law.More:Kentucky attorney general finds Louisville violated open records law several timesAnother law requires LMPD to respond to record requests within five days or to acknowledge each request within five days to explain why the deadline won't be met, and to establish a new deadline.Yet, the 490 Project did not hear back for more than two weeks and when the department did respond, it said there were over 300 complaints that needed to be reviewed, researched and redacted before they were disclosed, the suit says. The department stated it would fulfill the request by July, according to the suit.About five months after the initial request and nearly three months after LMPD's self-imposed deadline, the group has not received any records pertaining to the first request nor another three requests made in May and June, according to the lawsuit."It's really important that LMPD abides to the Open Records Act," said Cara Tobe, an organizer of the 490 Project, which was founded in 2020. "Without it, they can operate behind closed doors with no accountability or transparency to the community."Aside from failing to fulfill requests, the suit also takes issue with the department's practice of destroying complaint records against officers and with how the department differentiates between formal and informal complaints.While the state's record retention schedule makes a distinction between the two types of complaints and how long each needs to be kept, the Open Records Act does not, Adams said.It's been the law for decades that agencies can't avoid producing open records by "creating arbitrary labels," he said.Currently, the department is holding onto formal complaints for five years and informal complaints for two years, according to the most recent contract with the local FOP. Those timelines follow the state's retention schedule, but the suit argues all complaints should be kept for five years, given the distinction shouldn't exist, per the records act.More news:As deaths mount, group pushes changes at Louisville jail, while leaders eye new facilityNot holding onto these records, the group is arguing, prevents the department and the public from establishing whether a bad pattern by an employee exists."There's nothing sexy or cool about record retention policies but it's really important," Tobe said. "Without holding onto these records, the general public doesn't know when certain things happen or if red flags are being waived about a bad apple."Without properly maintaining these records and abiding by when the law says they must be released, Tobe said many of the department's wrongdoings would go uncovered."We would have had no idea about the truth behind Breonna Taylor’s murder," she said. "We would have no clue about the Explorer’s program scandal. Journalists won't be able to do their job. The public won’t know" what's going on.The suit is seeking that the department immediately fulfills the group's record requests; pay for costs acquired by the group due to filing the suit; pay the statutory penalty established for violating the Open Records Act; and remove the distinction between formal and informal complaints.This is the second time in a matter of months that the city and LMPD has been scrutinized for its actions relating to open records requests.In August, Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s office ruled in favor of The Courier Journal in its appeal that argued Louisville Metro Government violated the Kentucky Open Records Act by failing to respond to requests from Courier Journal reporters six times within the required five days.Five requests were for records from the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections and one was for records from LMPD. The city has 90 days − or until mid-November − to appeal the decision.Contact reporter Krista Johnson at [email protected]. 

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