Story at a glance
- U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Justice Department will carry out a “pattern or practice” investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department more than a year after Breonna Taylor was killed by police executing a no-knock warrant at her apartment.
- Taylor was killed when police broke down her apartment door seeking evidence in an investigation of her ex-boyfriend.
- The Justice Department opened a similar investigation last week in Minneapolis following the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Justice Department will carry out a “pattern or practice” investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) a year after Breonna Taylor was killed by police executing a no-knock warrant at her apartment.
“Today, the Justice Department is opening a civil investigation into the Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government and the Louisville Metro Police Department to determine whether LMPD engages in a pattern or practice of violations of the Constitution or federal law,” Garland said at a news conference.
Taylor was killed when police broke down her apartment door seeking evidence in an investigation of her ex-boyfriend. Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, who had a license to carry, opened fire because he believed it was a home invasion, NBC reported. Taylor was killed in the ensuing crossfire.
The Justice Department opened a similar investigation last week in Minneapolis following the conviction of Derek Chauvin in the death of George Floyd. The Minneapolis investigation will seek to uncover whether patterns of police practices violate the constitution or federal law, NBC reported.
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Garland said the investigation in Louisville will assess whether the 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,” Garland said.
“It will also assess whether LMPD engages in discriminatory conduct on the basis of race or fails to provide public services that comply with the Americans with Disability Act,” Garland said, adding that it will assess the “supervision of officers and systems of accountability.”
Garland told reporters the Justice Department will “aim to work” with the city and police to rectify and prevent “unlawful patterns or practices,” should the investigation bring any to light. Absent of a solution, the department could then file a civil suit to address any violations.
Former LMPD officer Brett Hankison was fired in June 2020 and charged with firing into the apartment and wanton endangerment, NBC reported. The department then fired detectives Myles Cosgrove and Joshua Janes in January. Louisville reached a $12 million settlement in September with Taylor’s family.
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