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DOJ making 'civil rights announcement' regarding Louisville on Thursday

Last March, the DOJ released a scathing report into the discriminatory patterns and practices by the LMPD. Now, the department is making an announcement.
Negotiations have spanned more than nine months, and according to Mayor Craig Greenberg's office, more than 60 meetings.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The U.S. Justice Department is expected to make an announcement Thursday about Louisville's consent decree.

Last March, the DOJ released a scathing report into the discriminatory patterns and practices by the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD). It found routine constitutional rights violations, disproportionately affecting Black citizens.

The Department of Justice is making a "civil rights announcement" related to Louisville, according to a news release.

The news conference begins at 11:30 a.m. and will be led by Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, Mayor Craig Greenberg and LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey.

If approved, the consent decree would mandate government oversight for the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Mayor Greenberg has previously said consent decree negotiations would be completed by the end of this year.

WHAS11 will provide a livestream of that news conference on all of our digital platforms, including here in this story, WHAS11+ and the WHAS11 YouTube Channel.

What is a consent decree?

Consent decrees are legally binding agreements and will require a list of reforms within LMPD and guide changes to policy and procedure for the foreseeable future.

The agreements can also be quite costly, with cities spending millions of dollars each year and lasting for several years, all funded by taxpayers.

Last week, LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey addressed concerns that the city was moving too slowly with negotiations as Donald Trump prepares to take office. There was worry that under Trump's administration, consent decree negotiations may have ended altogether.

“We're not going to succumb to political pressure and do what Baltimore did, which is rush it at the end and have mistakes in it that I think both the Department of Justice and the city of Baltimore wishes they had not done," he said. "You drive a car for miles and miles -- nobody cares about how beautiful your driving was if you've run into a tree at the end of it."

Louisville spent nine months negotiating the terms of its consent decree.

Greenberg has previously said there were non-negotiables that had to be met before signing the agreement – including specific performance measures and a clear exit path to ensure it was a financially responsible for the city.

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