How Justice Department investigations compare in Louisville and Phoenix
Roughly 1,700 miles separate Louisville, Kentucky, and Phoenix, Arizona. The two cities — one old, one new — share one thing: Both of their police departments are under investigation by the Department of Justice.
The probe into the Louisville Metro Police Department began in April, while the announcement of the Phoenix Police Department investigation came in August.
Here's what to know about both:
What is DOJ investigating?
Louisville
Federal investigators on April 26 announced their investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department, which will will look at:
Unreasonable force, especially during protests;
Unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures;
Use and execution of search warrants;
Discrimination on the basis of race;
Police training and accountability;
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, particularly when dealing with people experiencing mental health issues and homelessness.
Phoenix
The Justice Department on Aug. 5 outlined five key topics it would look at in the Phoenix Police Department:
Allegations of excessive use of force;
Retaliation against protesters;
Discriminatory policing practices;
Police response to people who have disabilities or who are experiencing homelessness.
How do the cities compare?
Louisville
Population: The population of Louisville and Jefferson County, which are consolidated into the Louisville Metro Government, is about 767,000.
Racial makeup: Approximately 66% of residents are white and non-Hispanic, 22% are Black, 6% identify as Hispanic or Latino and 3% are Asian.
Size: The county is roughly 380 square miles.
Police Department: As of Dec. 1, Louisville Metro Police had 1,035 sworn officers and 293 civilian employees. Its $195 million budget was about 25% of Louisville Metro's general fund.
Phoenix
Population: Phoenix surpassed Philadelphia as the nation's fifth-largest city at 1.6 million people.
Racial makeup: Approximately 43% of residents are Hispanic or Latino, 43% are white and non-Hispanic, 7% are Black, 3% are Asian and 2% are Native American.
Size: The city is about 517 square miles.
Police Department: Phoenix Police Department has nearly 4,000 employees and an annual operating budget that exceeds $700 million. There were 2,908 sworn personnel and 1,077 civilian personnel as of August.
Who are the police chiefs?
Louisville
Erika Shields was appointed to lead the Louisville Metro Police Department in January 2021. She is a 25-year law enforcement veteran and earns a $210,000 annual salary.
She previously worked as chief of Police of the Atlanta Police Department, which she joined in 1995 and worked her way through the ranks from a patrol officer.
Phoenix
Jeri Williams was appointed to lead the Phoenix Police Department in October 2016. She is a 32-year law enforcement veteran. Williams earned $215,001 in 2020, according to the city's Open Data website.
Williams is a Phoenix native. She began her career in law enforcement with the Phoenix Police Department and retired as an assistant chief after 22 years of service. She also served nearly six years as chief of police in Oxnard, California.
What are the pivotal cases in each city?
Louisville
Breonna Taylor (2020): Seven plainclothes police officers tried to serve a search warrant at Breonna Taylor's apartment around 12:40 a.m. March 13, as a part of a larger narcotics investigation centered around Taylor's ex-boyfriend. Officers used a battering ram to force open the apartment's front door, prompting Taylor's boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, to fire one round, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in the thigh. Mattingly and detectives Myles Cosgrove and Brett Hankison returned fire 32 times, killing Taylor. Walker maintained he did not know he was shooting at police officers; criminal charges against Walker from the shooting were dismissed. Hankison faces three counts of felony wanton endangerment for firing into a neighboring occupied apartment. Cosgrove and Joshua Jaynes, the detective who secured the warrant, were terminated from the department. No one has been criminally charged with Taylor's death.
David McAtee (2020): Louisville police and the Kentucky National Guard were called to 26th Street and Broadway around midnight June 1, to break up what police believed was a crowd in a popular food mart's parking lot — in violation of the mayor's curfew. While Guard members and officers cleared the area, police Officer Katie Crews fired pepper balls at people to get them to disperse. Some rushed into YaYa's, the BBQ business owned by 53-year-old David McAtee. McAtee saw his niece struck by projectiles and fired his handgun twice through the doorway of his business. Police and National Guard returned fire, hitting him in the chest. He died in his kitchen. The officers and Guard members were cleared in the shooting, but Crews is under federal investigation.
Tae-Ahn Lea (2018): Louisville police officers pulled over 18-year-old Tae-Ahn Lea for allegedly making a wide turn. He was pulled from the car, frisked and handcuffed, and a drug-sniffing dog searched the vehicle. The incident, captured on body cameras, went viral, with other Black residents saying they too had been unfairly stopped.
Phoenix
Michelle Cusseaux (2014): A Phoenix police sergeant fatally shot Michelle Cusseaux, 50, while serving a court order to take her to a mental health facility. Police said Cusseaux opened her front door with a claw hammer raised as officers were opening the security door to her unit. The sergeant shot her once in the chest, and she died at a hospital. Sgt. Percy Dupra was demoted but not criminally charged in the fatal incident. Cusseaux's family filed a $7 million notice of claim against the city in 2015.
Muhammad Muhayim (2017): Muhammad Abdul Muhaymin Jr., 43, tried to take his dog with him to a city community center bathroom in west Phoenix. Police were called and discovered he had an arrest warrant. At least four officers held him down, some with knees on his neck and head. "I can't breathe," Muhaymin was heard saying on body camera footage. By the time officers got off him, Muhaymin had no pulse. None of the 10 officers involved were charged in his death. Muhaymin's family filed a $10 million lawsuit against the city and were awarded a $5 million settlement in November.
Ryan Whitaker (2020): Ryan Whitaker heard a knock on his Ahwatukee apartment door in the middle of the night in May and answered the door holding his 9 mm handgun. He was confronted by two Phoenix police officers responding to a noise complaint. Within seconds, Officer Jeff Cooke shot Whitaker in the back and killed him. Cooke was not criminally charged, though in July the Department announced it planned to fire him. The Phoenix City Council unanimously approved a $3 million settlement with Whitaker's family in December 2020.
Jay Garcia (2020): Phoenix police were looking for a stabbing suspect at a Maryvale house in July when they found James "Jay" Porter Garcia, 28, asleep in a car in the driveway. Police wanted to talk to Garcia, though he didn't match the description and they were told the suspect had left. When police woke him, Garcia grabbed his gun. Police say Garcia raised his arm, and officers shot and killed him. Garcia's family filed a $10 million notice of claim against the city in December 2020, at which point criminal and internal investigations into the shooting were still awaiting final review form the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. At that time, the Department said the officers involved had returned to their assignments.
How did police respond to 2020 protests?
Louisville
Louisville police's response to protests in the wake of Taylor's death was deploying heavily armed and armored officers. Protesters were tear-gassed and shot with pepper balls.
On the first night of protests, seven people were shot by an unknown assailant. But the department's investigation fell through the cracks, and several victims said they were never even interviewed. No suspects have been identified.
The protests stretched on for more than 190 days. Policing staff shortages required officers to work 12-hour shifts with a moratorium placed on vacation days.
In the first four months of protests, police made 871 related arrests, including 252 with at least one felony charge. Most of those charges were dismissed or dropped outright.
Phoenix
Hundreds of people were arrested during protests in Phoenix following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, including more than 100 on the third night of demonstrations. A judge threw out the cases after finding that the probable cause statements police used had been "copied and pasted."
The People's Law Firm later filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Phoenix on behalf of 124 protesters, claiming gross negligence, indiscriminate use of force and violations of First and Fourth Amendment rights.
In October 2020, Phoenix police arrested 15 adults and three teenagers at a protest, saying the group marched in the road, knocked barricades over and threw smoke bombs at officers. The Maricopa County Attorney's Office brought gang-related charges against the adults, but later admitted the case was "deeply flawed" and permanently dismissed all charges related to the protest.
Why are the cities being investigated for discriminatory policing?
Louisville
A 155-page, $190,000 comprehensive review found Louisville officers don't treat communities of color equitably, and racial disparities found in data resulted from biased policing.
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A 2019 Courier Journal analysis of more than 130,000 traffic stops found Black drivers were stopped more often and were three times as likely to be searched as white drivers. Black drivers also were cited for marijuana possession at six times the rate of white drivers, despite both groups using the drug at the same rates.
The department also engaged in a pattern of traffic stops in areas of higher crime to to look for firearms. Black drivers said they were targeted without good reason, and police changed the policy after intense criticism in 2019.
A Courier Journal analysis of "no-knock" search warrants like the one obtained for Taylor's apartment found police disproportionately targeted Black residents living in the West End.
Phoenix
The Phoenix Police Department in 2020 released 10 years of records that showed significant racial disparities in how and when officers use force. Hispanic, Black and Native American residents were all subjected to a disproportionate share of police force than white residents.
During 2019, police used force against Latinos more often than white residents — even though both were arrested at roughly the same rates and represent a similar share of the city's population.
Black people made up 7% of the city's population but were the subject of about 19% of police use of force incidents that year. White residents made up about 43% of the city's population but were the subject of 25% of police force.
Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8529. Follow her on Twitter @brieannafrank.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Justice Department probes compare in Louisville and Phoenix
