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The U.S. Justice Department recently released the findings of their investigation into the practices of the Louisville, Kentucky police force, reporting that they regularly discriminate against Black citizens.
In a report released on March 8, the department said that there were repeated acts of misconduct by the police against citizens who weren’t a threat. Amongst these acts were neck restraints, searches without warrants as well as police dogs being sent on people to bite them continuously.
Extreme forms of aggressiveness, including derogatory remarks, were also used primarily toward Black people. According to the Justice Department and lead investigator Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, some of these acts were even filmed by the police themselves, who quickly turned to violence.
“The findings are deeply troubling and sobering, and they compromise LMPD’s ability to serve and protect the people of Louisville,” said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta per the official press release of the report. “We are committed to working with Louisville on a path forward to constitutional policing and stronger police-community trust. Although police reform won’t happen overnight, focused effort and sustained commitment will bring us closer to transformed relationships, safe communities, and this nation’s promise of justice and equality under the law.”
The investigation into the Louisville, Kentucky police force was launched in April of 2021. Throughout the course of its conduct, officials from the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Kentucky looked at hours of camera footage and thousands of documents and conducted multiple interviews with both Louisville’s police force and citizens.
With the release of the findings, the investigation is now considered the first complete investigation into police forces in the U.S. under the Biden-Harris administration. The initiation of the probe was brought on by the deaths of Black Americans at the hand of the police, particularly the death of Breonna Taylor.
On March 13, 2020, 26-year-old emergency room technician, Breonna Taylor, was killed when Louisville officers struck down the door of her home during a raid conducted in search for drugs- none of which were found in Taylor’s home. After her boyfriend reacted in self-defense, thinking that the officers were intruders, the police force fired about 22 shots into the apartment. Of these shots, multiple hit Taylor, ending her life.
Following the report of the murder by CNN in May, Taylor’s death sparked protests in Louisville and across the nation as part of the Black Lives Matter movement.
