LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Soon, Louisville community members will have the opportunity to weigh in on the federal consent decree that will shape reforms within Metro Government and Louisville Metro Police (LMPD).
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has scheduled two community meetings, one in-person and one virtually, for April.
The team who conducted the DOJ investigation will share what consent decrees have done for other cities, and what they can do in Louisville.
A consent decree is a settlement with the federal government, a document listing changes Louisville will be required to spend millions of its own dollars annually to fund. The goal is to make LMPD more equitable.
City leaders and the DOJ are still in the midst of negotiating the terms of the decree. They received a first draft on Feb. 20.
WHAS11 reported on a city under a consent decree for more than 10 years. New Orleans leaders describe the agreement as a double-edged sword -- on one hand resulting in a more honorable police department and changed culture, but also an agency gutted by an officer shortage and persistently high levels of violence.
The first meeting is Monday, April 8 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Republic Bank Foundation YMCA on West Broadway.
A virtual meeting will be held April 16.
The DOJ said they plan to have other events in different parts of the city in the coming months.
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