LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The government oversight committee has announced an investigation in to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer's administration Monday.
Committee Chair Brent Ackerson and Vice-Chair Anthony Piagentini said they will file a bipartisan resolution to look into the decisions made by Fischer and members of his administration leading up to and following the death of Breonna Taylor.
"I think there's a lot we don't know. So the best we can do with Breonna Taylor is establish a clear timeline of the events that took place, who was involved, who knew what when, and who were the decision makers," Ackerson, (D-26) said.
The councilmembers say the main point of the investigation is transparency. They plan to broaden the scope of the investigation to also look into other events following Taylor's death in recent weeks. That includes the death of David McAtee, city actions against protesters, and use of force by LMPD.
"Where does the buck stop with a lot of these decisions?" Ackerson said. "The public have the right to know who's calling the shots and what the thought process is? Apologies no longer work."
"We need the truth. The good, the bad, the ugly, and there's going to be all three. It needs to be on the table. The public needs to see it," Piagentini, (R-19) said.
The investigation comes after Metro Council President David James and other council members requested a look into the administration during a press conference June 1.
“We have heard the cries of our citizens. They are demanding more transparency about who made what decisions and why related to these troubling events," Piagentini said. "We will do what we are elected to do. We will represent the people and ensure our local government is transparent and that local leaders are held accountable for their decisions."
The oversight committee said it may look into getting an outside investigator and separate legal counsel. Through an investigation, it will have the power to call on city officials to testify and to subpoena records, like Taylor's autopsy.
The chairmen said the entirety of the investigation will be conducted in the public's view.
"This is not your normal investigation where they're hiding it until the end. This investigation is going to be conducted in these chambers, with these TV's rolling, so you the community will have the information as we're having it," Ackerson said.
The committee can also call on the mayor to testify, which is something they say they're willing to do if needed.
"My message for Mayor Fischer is we are desperate from transparency. The public is desperate for transparency.," Piagentini said.
When asked if the investigation is intended to build a case against Fischer to push for his resignation, Ackersaid said "no, it's not."
"We dont want to jump to any conclusions. At the end of the day, what we want is the truth and from there people can then make reasonable conclusions based upon facts," he said.
Mayor Greg Fischer's office released a statement in response Monday afternoon:
"The Mayor welcomes the Council review, which comes in addition to the state Attorney General's investigation into the death of Breonna Taylor, and independent reviews by the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice, which the Mayor fully supports.
In addition to those, the Mayor has authorized a top-to-bottom review of the Louisville Metro Police Department, as well as a Sentinel Event Review of all actions related to the Breonna Taylor case.
And to be clear, he is not waiting on any of these reviews to make changes, as evidenced by his decision to ban no-knock warrants, to require broader use of body cameras, and replace prior leadership at LMPD. "
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