'An urgent priority': Louisville, DOJ begin negotiating terms of federal consent decree

Louisville Metro and the city's police department have seen the first draft of a federal consent decree that will guide their policies in the years to come, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Tuesday.

Now, negotiations between all parties can begin.

A statement early Tuesday afternoon from the city said Louisville Metro Police officials along with representatives from Greenberg's office and the Jefferson County Attorney's Office had met with U.S. Department of Justice officials earlier in the day to receive and review the first draft of the consent decree, mandated in the aftermath of a federal investigation into the city and its police department following the killing of Breonna Taylor nearly four years ago.

The draft "must remain confidential," the statement said, citing DOJ instructions, though it said Greenberg and LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel are "committed to being transparent throughout this process and will keep Louisville informed as updates are available."

The city did not provide a timetable for next steps.

A consent decree is a legal settlement following negotiations between the DOJ and a city government or police department to track steps those local agencies will take to improve, with progress reported to the federal government by an independent monitor.

A consent decree can stay in place as long as needed until its goals are met and a court finds the party under the decree to be in compliance with its terms.

Last March, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the DOJ would work with Louisville to put together a consent decree to be monitored by a federal judge in the aftermath of Taylor's killing at the hands of LMPD in March 2020, which led to months of protests in the city and around the country.

A nearly two-year federal investigation by the department found Louisville's police department and city government routinely violated the rights of Black citizens and others in the community from 2016-21, including the frequent use of excessive force and searches often based on invalid warrants that included unlawful stops and tactics such as no-knock entries. It also noted routine violations of the rights of people engaged in protected speech critical of policing.

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At the time, Greenberg called the behavior described in the report as an "affront to the people of Louisville." And in Tuesday's statement, he called the consent decree negotiations "an urgent priority."

"(Reform) efforts are essential to make Louisville safer, stronger and healthier for all our people," said Greenberg, who's been in office since January 2023. "The DOJ report was a painful picture of LMPD’s past, but it has pointed us in the right direction for our future as we make LMPD the most trained, trusted and transparent police department in America."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky followed Tuesday's announcement with a call for "meaningful community involvement" in negotiations. The civil rights advocacy group, which noted it had previously filed a still-pending lawsuit against the city over use of force during the 2020 protests, has repeatedly called for officials to take public involvement into account in the years since Taylor was killed, including after four current and former LMPD officers were federally charged over her death.

"There is a very long road ahead for broad-scale reform of LMPD’s policies, practices, and training," ACLU of Kentucky Executive Director Amber Duke said. "Including the voices and ideas of directly impacted community members in this process is the only way we can hope for any level of healing from the horrific abuses suffered."

Attorney General Russell Coleman, meanwhile, said he's "constantly inspired" by young officers who risk their lives by working in law enforcement, and they'll "always have an ally in the Attorney General’s Office.”

“Wearing the badge of law enforcement comes with the highest standards and a constant drive to improve," Coleman, a Republican who took office this year, said in a prepared statement Tuesday afternoon. "The challenges of the past do not overshadow the present courage LMPD officers bring to keep families safe in a professional and constitutional way.

In a statement, Gwinn-Villaroel said LMPD is working closely with the DOJ and with Greenberg's office through the negotiations.

“As Chief, I have full faith in my fellow officers who bravely serve our city and I see their commitment to protecting our community and building and repairing trust with those we serve,” said Gwinn-Villaroel, who joined LMPD in 2021 alongside former Chief Erika Shields, who stepped down after Greenberg was elected.

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Reach Lucas Aulbach at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville consent decree negotiations begin, Craig Greenberg says