Greg Fischer: Kentucky State Police will investigate future Louisville police shootings

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky State Police will investigate future shootings by Louisville Metro Police where someone is injured or killed, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Thursday afternoon.

"We will contact the Kentucky State Police to do an independent investigation rather than LMPD investigating themselves," Fischer said in a recorded speech Thursday afternoon.

In an emailed statement sent in response to Courier Journal questions, a spokeswoman for Fischer said the details of the plan are still being worked out.

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"The mayor and chief agree that to help restore public trust, the city should move to have an outside entity investigate any future officer-involved shooting where someone is killed or injured," Jean Porter said in the statement.

© By Michael Clevenger, CJ LMPD police cruiser on the scene of a homicide. October 19, 2016

"There are many ideas for how this might work, including the multi-agency task force idea proposed by the FOP president. Until a long-term system is established, Louisville will contact the KSP to conduct such investigations."

Fischer's announcement comes more than four months after Louisville officers fatally shot Breonna Taylor, an unarmed 26-year-old Black woman, in her apartment while serving a search warrant with a no-knock clause.

One officer, Brett Hankison, has been fired for his actions during the shooting, while two others, Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly and detective Myles Cosgrove, remain on administrative reassignment.

No criminal charges have been filed in connection with Taylor's death.

Today, I'm updating our community on the steps being made on police reform. I too am frustrated with the pace of justice in Breonna Taylor's case. I will not wait to pursue the cause of racial justice here. https://t.co/UeqGVphrKJ

— Mayor Greg Fischer (@louisvillemayor) July 23, 2020

Ryan Nichols, the president of the River City FOP that represents Louisville Metro Police officers, said Thursday his organization opposes having state police investigate Louisville police shootings while still investigating itself.

Nichols said he had discussions with Fischer as recently as last week about creating a multiagency task force that investigates all shootings by officers throughout the state, staffed by several police departments. 

"We have great investigators here, with a vast amount of shooting investigative experience," Nichols said. "Why would we not use that, both here and throughout the state? It seems very counter-productive."

In his speech, Fischer outlined additional changes he will pursue:

• Strengthening civilian oversight of police investigations through changes in state law and ensuring the Civilian Review Board has subpoena power.
• Creating an Office of Inspector General by local ordinance to support the Civilian Review Board by investigating complaints against LMPD officers as well as "troublesome patterns and practices."
• Working with the local Fraternal Order of Police to "strike the right balance between protecting an officers' right to due process and providing the public with greater transparency and accountability."
• Pursuing a change to state law that would allow public officials to speak publicly about police investigations.

Reporter Darcy Costello contributed to this story. Reach Tessa Duvall at tduvall@courier-journal.com and 502-582-4059. Twitter: @TessaDuvall. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/subscribe. 

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Greg Fischer: Kentucky State Police will investigate future Louisville police shootings