LOUISVILLE, Ky. — More than 60 pages of research looked into the history of Louisville policing and revealed centuries of racial discrimination within Louisville police.
The University of Louisville report titled, “The History of Policing in Louisville: A Fact-Finding Report on Institutional Harms”, looks through time, from the department's inception in 1778 to 2023, to identify patterns of institutional harm in Louisville policing and how to make changes.
One of the three principal investigators, Women’s Gender, and Sexuality Studies Emerita Cate Fosl, shared the report findings Monday at Grace Hope Presbyterian Church.
"There have just been a lot of disappointments, there have been a lot of missed opportunities," Fosl said. "I'm a historian of the Black Freedom Movement in the south, and so I'm familiar with racial injustice. And I was still fairly shocked by some of our findings, just the scope of it."
The 64-page report was commissioned and paid for by Louisville Metro Government in 2021 under then-Mayor Greg Fischer. It was conducted as part of Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Truth and Transformation concept.
Rabbi Robert Slosberg, who is on the committee that created the concept, sees the report as a way to acknowledge what happened in the past.
“There can’t be healing until we know the history of the disconnect and the pain that’s been created by our police over generations," he said. "We have to confront it, we have to learn from it, we have to change, and we have to move forward."
Fosl said the report works as a counterpart to the 2023 Department of Justice report, both reports coming to the same conclusions: repeated civil rights violations at the hands of Louisville officers.
"The main difference is our report reaches further back to the origins of policing in Louisville," she said.
The city is awaiting the implementation of a federal consent decree and Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel was placed on paid administrative leave less than a week ago. Louisville policing seems to be top of mind for many.
"We have had so many police chiefs recently and there have been so many initiatives that haven't come to fruition," Fosl said. “I’m surprised by an individual incident, but the pattern just seems very entrenched.”
Fosl said findings of racial discrimination within the Louisville police have persisted for centuries. And while she has hope for the future of Louisville policing, she believes the change has to come from the top.
"I have hope for reform, if our leaders will embrace honest, substantive change. We need more than just band aids," she said.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.