DOJ Issues Scathing Report On Louisville Police

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A new report by the Department of Justice determined that the Kentucky police department responsible for the 2020 killing of Breonna Taylor “unlawfully discriminates against Black people,” among other findings.

The report, released Wednesday, found that the Louisville Police Department uses excessive force, uses invalid warrants to conduct searches, unlawfully stops people and “violates the rights of people engaged in protected free speech critical of policing.”

The DOJ’s two-year investigation began following the killing of 26-year-old Taylor by Louisville police officers, who knocked her door down while executing a drug search warrant. Taylor was fatally shot by police after her boyfriend fired a shot at the officers as they came through the door. Last year, a Louisville officer pleaded guilty to falsifying the warrant that led to the deadly shooting.

The scathing report details widespread abuses of power within the department and a lack of accountability.

“Failures of leadership and accountability have allowed unlawful conduct to continue unchecked,” the report says. “Even when city and police leaders announced solutions, they failed to follow through. In LMPD, officer misconduct too often goes unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, LMPD leaders have endorsed and defended unlawful conduct. A street enforcement unit that violated LMPD policy and federal law has been repeatedly rebranded, but never disbanded.”

The report also notes that the city of Louisville has paid out more than $40 million in the past to resolve claims of police misconduct.



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