Round 2 for reform in Louisville

Louisville was one of 15 cities selected in 2016 to become models of 21st century policing. As of 2017, the police department indicated it had completed 351 different reform initiatives. However, as reported here, the agency shifted its focus to aggressive patrol and enforcement as violent crime began to increase. Community policing duties were largely relegated to a special unit and community activists began to question the city’s reform sincerity. Then, in 2020, Breanna Taylor was killed by police during execution of a no-knock search warrant. Protests later in the year over her death and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis turned violent and the police response was heavy-handed. A federal civil rights investigation is now underway, likely to result in recommendations or mandates similar to the ones that were promised back in 2016. 

Tags: Kentucky