Justice Department Accuses Louisville Police of Targeting Vulnerable Populations

© AP FILE - A ground mural depicting a portrait of Breonna Taylor is seen at Chambers Park in Annapolis, Md., July 6, 2020. The U.S. Justice Department has found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights following an investigation prompted by the fatal police shooting of Taylor. The announcement was made Wednesday, March 8, 2023, by Attorney Merrick Garland. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

The Kentucky city of Louisville and its Metro Police Department violated the constitutional rights of its residents for years – and especially the rights of Black people – a scathing report from the Justice Department concluded nearly three years after police officers killed Breonna Taylor there in a botched raid.

“For years, LMPD has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city,” the report, released on Wednesday, states.

“Some officers demonstrate disrespect for the people they are sworn to protect. Some officers have videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars; insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people ‘monkeys,’ ‘animal,’ and ‘boy.’”

The report documents decades of failed leadership that allowed the unlawful conduct to fester. Moreover, while police officers routinely stop and cite people for minor offenses, they let serious crimes, including sexual assault and homicide, go unresolved.

“Even when city and police leaders announced solutions, they failed to follow through,” the report said. “In LMPD, officer misconduct too often goes unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, LMPD leaders have endorsed and defended unlawful conduct.”

While the investigation was prompted by the violent 2020 no-knock raid that killed Taylor, the problems long precede the incident, the report documents.

“Breonna Taylor was a symptom of problems that we have had for years,” a police department leader told federal investigators, according to the report.

“This conduct is unacceptable,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Wednesday during a news conference. “It is heartbreaking. It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing and it is an affront to the vast majority of officers who put their lives on the line every day to serve Louisville with honor.”

“And it is an affront to the people of Louisville,” he added, “who deserve better.”

The Biden administration has vowed to tackle the issue of police violence aggressively and has similar ongoing investigations into close to a dozen other cities, including Minneapolis and Phoenix. But in lieu of congressional action, there’s little that the White House can do to push the type of sprawling reforms advocates want.

President Joe Biden has called on state and local governments to use money from the American Rescue Plan to hire more police officers, and he signed an executive order last year aimed at holding officers accountable for police misconduct and strengthening public safety. Among other things, the executive order created a national database of police misconduct, mandated the use of body-worn cameras in certain situations, banned the use of chokeholds and established new standards aimed at limiting the use of force.

But critics say that it lacks teeth and accountability mechanisms, and is a far cry from the president’s insistence that it represents “the most significant policy reform in decades,” which is what Biden called it in remarks made ahead of the signing ceremony for the executive order.

Acknowledging the continued problem of police violence, including most recently by police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, who beat Tyre Nichols to death, Biden called on lawmakers to take up the issue in earnest.

“When police officers or police departments violate the public trust, they must be held accountable,” Biden said in his State of the Union address last month, where Nichols’ parents were present. “All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment.”

In the wake of the scathing report released Wednesday, Louisville officials vowed to take the necessary actions to make amends.

“We will make progress – continued progress towards improvement and reform. Towards making sure LMPD delivers services that respect the Constitution, increase trust and promote public safety and officer safety,” Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Wednesday at the news conference with Garland.

The city of Louisville entered into an agreement with the Justice Department, police officers and community leaders to address the myriad problems documented in the report. Notably, in the wake of Taylor’s murder, the city already banned no-knock warrants, expanded violence prevention services and launched a program to utilize behavioral health professionals to resolve some 911 calls. As part of the new agreement, the police department will also revamp how it trains officers.

In a sobering statement that spoke to the depth of pain that some police officers have caused the very citizens they’re entrusted to protect, interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said that the report represents an “extremely challenging and pivotal point for our city, our department, and for our officers.”

“We will not falter in this effort,” Gwinn-Villaroel said. “We are committed to ensuring police practices not only reflect constitutional principles, but the values of the communities served by LMPD. We recognize that the process of reform is complex and requires a sustained effort.”

Copyright 2023 U.S. News & World Report