LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) Chief Paul Humphrey confirmed the city is still in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice on the terms of future oversight.
The city has already agreed in principle to a federal consent decree, the legally binding agreement that'll require a list of reforms within LMPD and guide changes to policy and procedure for the foreseeable future.
When asked whether it'll be finalized and in effect by the new year, Humphrey told WHAS11, "We're making good progress. I would assume that we would get it done before then."
It comes as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office in January, already projecting major shakeups in the DOJ -- which he's voiced frustration over during President Joe Biden's term.
WHAS11 asked U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell for his thoughts on what Trump's DOJ could look like, to which he responded, "We're still enjoying the results of the election. We have a Senate majority and look forward to seeing what the new administration wants to do."
In Trump's first term, the DOJ hardly used consent decrees -- just once launching a pattern or practice investigation into a police department.
During Biden's term, we've seen 12 of these investigations -- including in Louisville -- but no reform agreements have been enacted yet, and time is running out.
In its blistering report in March 2023, DOJ officials found routine constitutional rights violations at the hands of LMPD, disproportionately affecting Black citizens.
When asked how a very different DOJ under a second Trump administration may affect enforcement of the pending consent decree, Humphrey answered, "I can't predict what the next administration will do. I think we do have some history from this next administration, having been a previous administration."
Bishop Dennis Lyons, who once hosted two DOJ officials at his own weekly roundtable called the Bishop's Table at Gospel Missionary Church, is worried what this shift of power could mean for the changes many in the Black community have been asking for since the Breonna Taylor protests of 2020.
"What we're concerned [about] is that it may slip back, and it may lead us to [a] long delay in getting the reform that the people here in Louisville need with the Louisville [Metro] Police Department," Lyons told WHAS11 on Thursday. "There was a relationship between those, even in Washington, when they came in town -- they would be at the Table. And then even those right up there on Broadway, we were a phone call away. We definitely have a concern about that."
University of Louisville law professor Sam Marcosson has told WHAS11 'there's every reason to believe' even if a consent decree is in place before Biden leaves office, its enforcement would be much less rigorous in a second Trump administration.
Tamika Palmer, Breonna Taylor's mother, spoke to WHAS11 the day before the election, and just days after she witnessed the first criminal conviction of a police officer involved in the raid on her daughter's home, former LMPD detective Brett Hankison.
She said she was "praying" Trump would not be elected, "Because we know it was his DOJ who refused to investigate the first time. So who knows what'll happen if they get back in there."
There are still open federal criminal cases against ex-LMPD officers Joshua Jaynes and Kyle Meany, both of whom have pleaded not guilty and are set to eventually stand trial, charged for their roles in securing a search warrant that led to the botched, deadly raid on Taylor's home.
Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the WHAS11 News app now. For Apple or Android users.
Have a news tip? Email assign@whas11.com, visit our Facebook page or X feed.