LOUISVILLE, Ky. — In an effort to dive deeper into their findings, U.S. Department of Justice representatives hosted an online informational meeting on their Louisville Metro Police investigation.
They said there were nine issues that need to be addressed.
"Officers use neck restraints, such as choke holds, in ways that violate the constitution," DOJ Trial Attorney Mehveen Riaz said.
The DOJ said officers have also deployed police dogs against people who pose no threat and officers deployed tasers against people who were not resisting or were already detained.
"Finally, officers use takedowns, strikes, and other bodily force in ways that are unnecessary or unlawful," Riaz said.
As far as search warrants, the DOJ found they don't hold up.
"The applications frequently lacked the specificity and the detail that is necessary to establish probable cause for the search," Jessica Malloy, assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of Kentucky, said.
The report found officers frequently brought warrants to specific judges who were more likely to approve them.
As far as LMPD's enforcement on the street, the DOJ said it involved the routine violation of the Fourth Amendment.
"Officers frequently stop and frisk people without suspicion that the person has been involved in a crime," DOJ Trial Attorney Dave Cooper said.
It's something they found repeated throughout the department. Along with racial discrimination.
"In multiple areas, LMPD treats Black people differently than white people who engage in similar behavior," DOJ Trial Attorney Suraj Kumar said.
The DOJ referred to policing of marijuana use, which disproportionately impacts people who are Black in Louisville when people who are white report similar use of the drug.
Then, there are the reported First Amendment issues.
"A pattern or practice of conduct of retaliating against protected speech that is critical of police and in violation of the First Amendment," DOJ attorney Jared Hager said.
They said some of this was evident in the police response to protests in 2020.
On Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliance, they said LMPD and Metro Government put individuals experiencing mental health crises in a harmful position by primarily sending officers to respond, often heightening or even causing the crisis.
In sexual assault cases, the DOJ found LMPD's staffing and funding cuts lead to improper treatment of victims.
This all increased the need for strong supervision and accountability which the DOJ said is lacking, from training to review.
"Supervisors at LMPD regularly fail to identify problematic conduct by the officers they supervise and to document and address that conduct," Cooper said.
In an effort to move forward, the DOJ met with Metro Government, LMPD and community leaders like Bishop Dennis Lyons.
"They brought together a group of us to talk about what was said earlier today, and to give us an idea of what is going to take place in the days to come," he said. "To set a precedent so we will have an understanding of the process."
To contact the DOJ about your experience with these issues, you can email them here.
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