Justice Department Secures Agreement with Louisville Metro Government to Reform Louisville Metro’s and Louisville Metro Police Department’s Unconstitutional and Unlawful Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has entered into a court enforceable agreement with Louisville Metro Government (Louisville Metro) to resolve the Department's findings that Louisville Metro and the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) engage in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution and federal law.

The consent decree, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky, sets forth a blueprint for reform by Louisville Metro and LMPD. The decree sets out specific policies, trainings, and programs that Louisville Metro and LMPD will implement to protect the rights of Louisville residents and promote public safety. The decree requires Louisville Metro and LMPD to collect and analyze data to improve as an agency and to hold officers and Louisville Metro employees accountable. The decree also requires Louisville Metro and LMPD to report on their progress publicly and to involve the community throughout the implementation process.

Under the decree, the parties will jointly recommend that the court appoint an independent monitor to assess Louisville Metro and LMPD's implementation of the agreement. The independent monitor will regularly report to the public and the court on their progress.

"Nearly five years after Breonna Taylor was shot and killed in her own home in the middle of the night by Louisville Metro Police Department officers, the Justice Department has secured an agreement to enact significant, systemic reforms to policing in Louisville," said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. "This agreement addresses the serious violations of federal law that we uncovered during our pattern or practice investigation and puts the city of Louisville and its police department on a path to lasting reform. We are committed to honoring Breonna Taylor through our work to implement the agreement and to make Louisville a better and safer place for all of its residents."

"In the wake of Breonna Taylor's tragic killing, the people of Louisville fiercely advocated for racial justice, policing reform and accountability," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "City residents demanded that they receive the constitutional policing that they rightly deserve. Through this consent decree, Louisville and its police department have committed to addressing the violations of the Constitution and federal law we found during our investigation and to making Louisville a place where the police respect everyone's rights. We look forward to working with city officials, the police department, and the people of Louisville to establish meaningful and lasting reform."

The Justice Department and Louisville Metro have jointly requested that the court enter the consent decree as an order of the court. The reforms required by the decree will ensure that:

• LMPD officers use appropriate de-escalation techniques and attempt to resolve incidents without force when possible, and use force in a manner that is reasonable, necessary, and proportional to the threat presented;
• LMPD's applications for residential search warrants articulate specific, individualized, and accurate facts that establish probable cause for everything to be searched and seized, and LMPD officers execute residential search warrants using safe and lawful tactics;
• LMPD officers conduct street enforcement activities, including stops, frisks, searches, and arrests, in a manner that protects people's rights;
• LMPD enforces the law fairly and impartially, providing equal protection of the law for all people in Louisville and taking steps to reduce unlawful racial disparities in enforcement;
• LMPD officers respect the First Amendment rights of all persons, including the right to criticize and protest police conduct and to observe and record police officers in the public discharge of their duties;
• Louisville Metro and LMPD deploy non-law enforcement deflection teams to situations involving people in behavioral health crisis where police involvement is not necessary, and when it is necessary, LMPD sends specially trained officers to respond;
• LMPD responds to and investigates sexual assault, domestic violence, and sexual misconduct in a thorough, timely, trauma-informed, and bias-free manner;
• Louisville Metro operates a non-police outreach team to respond to situations involving unhoused individuals that do not warrant a law enforcement or behavioral health crisis response;
• LMPD enhances community engagement and solicits input to ensure its policing practices are responsive to community needs;
• Louisville Metro and LMPD put in place effective supervision practices and robust training for officers;
• LMPD officers receive the support they need to do their jobs safely and effectively;
• LMPD develops a recruitment and hiring program designed to attract a diverse, well-qualified array of individuals; and
• LMPD investigates allegations of officer misconduct fully, fairly, and efficiently, and holds all officers who commit misconduct accountable through fair and consistent discipline.

Along with the consent decree, Louisville Metro and the Department have entered into a new agreement in principle committing to create evaluation tools, called Performance Review methodologies, for each section of the consent decree. These tools will identify in detail the specific metrics that the independent monitor will use to determine whether Louisville Metro and LMPD have complied with the terms of the consent decree.

The Justice Department announced its findings in March 2023, following a thorough investigation into Louisville Metro and LMPD, which began in April 2021. The Civil Rights Division's Special Litigation Section and the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Kentucky conducted the investigation, with the assistance of law enforcement professionals. The Department conducted the investigation pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law.

The Department will hold a virtual zoom community meeting to discuss the consent decree on Monday, Dec. 16, at 7:30 pm ET. Register for the event at https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_O8uZMp10QZaMqSLP1bix2Q. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the decree.

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Information specific to the Civil Rights Division's police reform work can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/conduct-law-enforcement-agencies.

Read the consent decree here.

Read the consent decree fact sheet here.

Read the findings report here.