The Justice Department is about to launch an investigation into the practices and behavior of the Louisville Police Department.
The news was announced on Monday by Attorney General Merrick Garland. This comes after a slew of police killings of Black Americans, specifically the murder of Louisville aspiring nurse Breonna Taylor. The 26-year-old woman was murdered by police moments after they burst into her home during a botched raid.
According to CNN, Garland mentioned Taylor while speaking at the Justice Department’s headquarters, saying the investigation will “will assess whether (Louisville Metro Police Department) engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved in peaceful expressive activities.”
“It will determine whether LMPD engages in unconstitutional stops, searches, and seizures, as well as whether the department unlawfully executes search warrants on private homes,” he said, adding that “it will also assess whether LMPD engages in discriminatory conduct on the basis of race, or fails to perform public services that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Investigation will include comprehensive review of the Louisville police department policies and training.”
He went on to say that “if there’s reasonable cause to believe there is a pattern or practice of constitutional or statutory violations,” the department “will issue a public report of our conclusions” and that it will “aim to work with the city and police department to arrive at a set of mutually agreeable steps that they can take to correct and prevent unlawful patterns and practices.”
Last week, Garland announced that an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department is also being launched. This comes after the murder of George Floyd last year and the murder of Daunte Wright.
