LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Nearly 50 concerned Louisville residents shared their thoughts and ideas with the U.S. Department of Justice investigators on the upcoming consent decree that will oversee Metro Police.
The conversations were based on the DOJ’s findings the concluded the department violated the constitutional rights of Louisville citizens. This decree would put the city under a federal watch for an undetermined amount of time.
The agency will negotiate with the city on how a federal consent decree overseeing Metro Police will be managed.
“Your voice today is one of many opportunities that arrived to tell us what you would like to see in that consent decree,” U.S. Attorney Jessica Malloy said.
Janice Walls, a west Louisville resident, was one of many people who share their experiences with policing and/or Metro Police.
“You can voice your opinion, offer suggestions – but at this point, I want to see some action,” she said. “Policing is very much in our community – considered not our friends and not safe.”
Dr. Ed Warner Jr. said it has been more than 15 years since his incident, and he recently filed a complaint with the Office of the Inspector General.
"Some of those issues I didn't even realize the level of misconduct until just recently when this report came out," he said.
Inspector General Edward Harness attended the meeting and said he is no stranger to working in a city under a consent decree.
"I thought there was good feedback from the community – lots of good ideas, some of the things that we have in mind at the office of inspector general," he said.
Harness’ office plans to move forward with some of the ideas supported by the community but some Louisvillians feel this won't be a quick change.
Walls said, "But as my best friend said, 'it's a culture thing and that's not going to change overnight.'"
The meeting, for some, was much needed and gave them the opportunity for their voices to be taken seriously.
"While they move slowly, they have created some successes with these consent decrees and I do like the idea that they are forcing citizens to think about how to have valid input in the system and in the process," Warner said.
The scathing DOJ report, released in March, listed 36 areas for improvement.
At the end of April, Mayor Craig Greenberg revealed his new budget. He is putting more than $200 million into Metro Police, to create 33 new positions.
Those include new training jobs, and specialists specifically assigned to review search warrants.
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