Information in Reference to DOJ Findings Report

On March 8, 2023, the Department of Justice released the findings of their investigation into Louisville Metro Government and the Louisville Metro Police Department. In their report, the Department of Justice describes incidents to support their claims. After their announcement, at the request of Louisville Metro Government, the DOJ provided the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office a list of 63 incidents referenced with identifying report numbers and information. Links to documents, reports, and other information for the referenced incidents are below.  

The DOJ report was initiated to focus on systemic issues indicative of a “Pattern or Practice” of legal or constitutional violations. As the Department of Justice has stated, their investigation did not intend to investigate individual officers or reach any conclusions about individual conduct. In our continuing efforts towards transparency and accountability, LMPD is dedicated to reviewing the incidents referenced in the report. Our goal is to better understand how those events influenced the DOJ claims regarding a pattern or practice violation. Furthermore, it is important for us to understand the totality and impact of these incidents.

Each individual incident is being reviewed and discussed extensively between the Chief, the Executive Staff, and Legal Advisors to determine if any additional action is warranted. Once this review is complete and the final determination of action is made by the Chief, these decisions will be made public. Incidents which involve officers no longer employed with LMPD or incidents that were given final disciplinary adjudication by a previous administration will not be reviewed for any additional disciplinary measures, based on advice from the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office. However, it is critical all incidents are reviewed to further understand potential gaps in policy, training, and supervision.

The Louisville Metro Police Department values our integrity and respects the needs of the public to know we are taking the allegations by the Department of Justice seriously. We recognize the shortcomings of the past and the importance of necessary improvements within our department. However, because LMPD is obliged to do a thorough and objective assessment of each individual incident under review, we cannot be confined to adopting all of the DOJ’s allegations as fact or limiting ourselves to those allegations. LMPD is committed to taking those allegations seriously and doing any further fact finding necessary to reach a conclusion as to any particular individual.  

In conclusion , we are dedicated to protecting the safety and constitutional rights of all members of our community. We are fully committed to building trust no matter how difficult. The Louisville Metro Police Department is focused on the future and how we can create the best police department for this community and the members of LMPD. We will use this process to learn from the past to improve our services and responses moving forward.