LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Five days after the Department of Justice released a scathing report of the Louisville Metro Police Department and Metro Government's behavior, community organizations met at the Louisville Urban League to discuss recommendations for the upcoming LMPD contract.
The DOJ's report exposed a pattern of discriminatory policing within the police department. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said LMPD's conduct was "unacceptable."
"It's heartbreaking," he said. "It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing."
On Monday, Louisville Urban League President Dr. Kish Cumi Price was emotional as she read some of the specific incidents listed in the report.
"An LMPD officer ordered his dog," Price said, choking up. "To bite a Black 14-year-old even though he was not resisting."
Price and other community organizations including the ACLU, VOCAL KY, and the 490 Project, gathered to recommend solutions for the upcoming LMPD contract negotiations.
It's something the community has waited patiently for and they said the real work begins now.
Those suggestions were made with a "remove, revise and replace" approach.
"'Around non-discrimination,' it should be revised to include an exception that includes participation in known-hate groups, white supremacy groups, domestic terrorist groups," Price said.
Throughout the meeting, Price echoed there is no accountability without transparency, discussing what police retraining should look like.
She expressed that a police officer's history should be kept on file for much longer, saying that currently, the department only holds those records for a year before they are destroyed.
"That's crazy," she said.
Price and other community leaders recommend an officer's history file be kept for at least five years.
They even went in depth as to what a suspension for officers should look like.
"'Suspension without pay pending,' we wanted to replace this section so it is more instructive about what this means," she said.
The LUL plans to meet with Mayor Craig Greenberg's office to discuss more details about these recommendations in the future.
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