After 10 months of negotiations with the Justice Department, Louisville and federal officials have signed a consent decree. The agreement intends to outline reform to the city’s police force, and community leaders said they have hope but are proceeding with caution.
On Thursday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the city would enter the consent decree. The 248-page document serves as a roadmap for Louisville Metro Police reform that the city is required to complete.
The agreement stems from a 2023 DOJ report which unearthed several cases of police misconduct including faulty internal investigations, invalid search warrants, excessive use of force and unlawful searches and arrests.
“This conduct harmed community members and undermined public trust in law enforcement that is essential for public safety. This consent decree marks a new day for Louisville,” said Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general to the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, at a press conference.
Louisville Metro Council Member Shameka Parrish-Wright, a District 3 Democrat, said LMPD “earned this consent decree” and that accountability on the federal level is long overdue.
“I was so thankful that Kristen Clark spoke on what got us here. LMPD got us here,” Parrish-Wright said.
Following the police killing of Breonna Taylor, Louisville saw massive racial justice protests, and numerous reports of police misconduct in the time that followed.
Since then, two officers have been found guilty for their involvement in the botched 2020 raid at Taylor's home. This includes former LMPD detective Kelly Goodlett, and—more recently—former detective Brett Hankison.
For Taylor’s mother, Tamika Palmer, the consent decree could be an opportunity to protect the community.
“We keep dying,” Palmer said. “We keep being the people that are not handled correctly. So I don't think we have felt anything ... .I pray and pray some more that we are going to move forward, that we are not going to continue to lose lives to the police.”
The agreement could be a vehicle to hold police officers accountable in cases of misconduct, said ACLU-KY Executive Director Amber Duke.
“There are people who are walking around this community that are severely traumatized and have PTSD from their interactions with members of LMPD,” Duke said.
Earlier this year, an LMPD officer was given a letter of reprimand for an incident against a TV news crew in 2020. That same officer is facing new allegations related to misconduct from the same night.
Parrish-Wright said the consent decree won’t work without input from community stakeholders.
“They cannot accomplish that if they don't have fair participation from our citizens, from the people of Louisville. We have to be at whatever tables we're allowed to be at, and I think that that is going to be the way we continue to hold this accountable.”
The DOJ report detailed a history of unlawful policing practices within LMPD, especially towards Black people.
Louisville Inspector General Edward Harness came to Louisville in 2021 to help the city implement its consent decree and share it with the public. Harness said it’s important Louisvillians know that the agreement is a federal court order.
“It is enforceable, and while many of the community, I hear their frustrations about the lack of change that's taken place with Louisville, but this will be mandated change that has to take place,” Harness said.
Harness also oversaw a consent decree in Albuquerque, New Mexico for six years. The police force there completed the plans outlined in its agreement earlier this year.
Harness said he witnessed changes in Albuquerque’s police force.
“[There were] changes in the use of force, the overall relationship with the community improved, and certainly there was a heightened accountability to the community by the department,” Harness said.
He said he’s hopeful reform will come to LMPD, too. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the consent decree is expected to complete its plan for policing within the next five years.
