LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A federal judge Monday repeatedly questioned whether the court should be involved in overseeing the agreement between Metro government and the U.S. Department of Justice that lays out sweeping reforms of Louisville police.

U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton expressed concern that, if he approves the consent decree, a judge would be responsible for "day to day operations" of the police force instead of city officials.

Beaton asked if there was a "less intrusive" remedy of reforming the police department without court oversight and monitoring.

"Normally, judges aren't involved in running police departments day to day," he said.

Beaton asked why the agreement reached in December wouldn't be enough, saying both sides could petition the court if there are problems. 

The move signals a potential complication in the city's effort to get Beaton to approve the deal, a move that would give the federal court ultimate authority over implementing the plan. 

The judge didn't make a ruling Monday and asked both sides to come together and provide any significant supplemental information to him by Friday.

At one point, Beaton asked Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey what sort of difference it would make going forward under a court ordered consent decree versus just the current agreement with the police and DOJ.

"We are going to proceed on the path we are on one way or another," Humphrey said. "This agency is not going to change its path toward improvement" regardless of whether there is a legally binding consent decree or not.

But attorneys for the DOJ argued that the approval from Beaton and subsequent independent monitoring were essential to enforce the changes as LMPD has promised reforms before but either not followed through or didn't go far enough.

"This was something we fought hard for, between the parties, and made compromises on," said Paul Killebrew, deputy chief of special litigation for the DOJ, adding that the consent decree is necessary because "there have been half measures and efforts that failed before they began" previously by LMPD.

Beaton said the consent decree would cost millions of dollars and he wasn't sure federal court involvement was warranted in this instance, especially when LMPD has already made several of the recommended changes and agreed to continue with further reforms.

"I understand that, for the DOJ, this is the way to go," he said. "But the fact that it has happened before (in other cities) doesn't mean it should happen here."

The 248-page DOJ report was the result of months of negotiations that began after the Justice Department concluded in 2023 that Louisville police and Metro government for years engaged in practices that violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law, including excessive use of force and searches based on invalid warrants.

The parties negotiated for nine months before agreeing to the consent decree in December.

With a court-ordered consent decree, the city or LMPD could be held in contempt if they refuse or fail to intact reforms outlined in the FOP report. It would also fund an independent monitor who would oversee the police department's progress and report to the court.

"Given the track record of the city before, we need the threat of contempt," Killebrew said.

The judge did not make a ruling on Monday and asked both sides to come together and provide any significant supplemental information to him by Friday.

Beaton, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, also questioned the timing of the consent decree agreement reached in December, just before Trump takes office again.

"I'm really concerned racing to rubber stamp a (248-page) consent decree," he said. "We're really in a difficult position now."

During Trump's first term, Attorney General Jeff Sessions raised concerns about consent decrees in a 2018 policy memo, including their impacts on budgets and local control.

And on Monday, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill announced their partnership in an effort to end the New Orleans Police Department's consent decree.

Both Louisville and DOJ officials said the timing of the consent decree agreement had nothing to do with the changing presidential administration but simply reflected the time it took for the lengthy investigation and negotiations to be completed.

Humphrey told Beaton that police had already made several changes ordered by the DOJ, including, for example, a prohibition against tasing a fleeing suspect and new policies in how to handle traffic stops.

Representatives for the police department told the judge they do not agree with all of the DOJ's findings, including that there is a pattern or practice of using lethal force or pulling over Black drivers at a higher rate than whites.

Beaton asked the DOJ for evidence used to determine LMPD was stopping Black drivers more often. He also wanted to know how many officers were found to have violated lethal force policies.

Killebrew said that the department could not provide these investigative materials in a case that could end up going to trial.

The answer frustrated Beaton who called it a "head scratcher" and asked how he could tell citizens these were reasonable reforms if he doesn't have all the information available to him. 

"If I look at this report and see a couple of anecdotal incidents, it's very difficult for me to announce this consent decree is a reasonable response," Beaton said. 

Mayor Craig Greenberg's administration previously said it expects the consent decree will be approved by a federal judge, starting a process city officials hope will be completed in less than five years. An independent monitor who reports to the court will oversee the police department's progress.

The city plans to name the monitor— typically a team of experts in policing, law and other specialties — by the spring. It has agreed to pay no more than $1.475 million annually for an initial two-year term. After five years, a U.S. District Court judge would hold a hearing on Louisville's progress.

Under the agreement, the department will revise its use-of-force and training policies, improve search warrant practices, ensure traffic stops are conducted legally, ensure the fair investigations of police misconduct and address sexual harassment allegations in the department, among other reforms.

The agreement addresses 13 specific areas, from traffic stops to officer assistance, and requires police to show "substantial compliance" with the promised changes before each section is satisfied.

The Biden administration's Justice Department announced the findings of its review March 8, 2023. That came nearly two years after the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor, which prompted both local and national criticism of the police department as well as months of protests.

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland listed myriad examples of Louisville police misconduct and crimes, such as throwing drinks at pedestrians, racial disparities in arrests and traffic stops, assaulting citizens with disabilities and calling Black people "monkeys, animal and boy."

The federal investigation into LMPD cites 63 different incidents of alleged misconduct, according to an appendix of the 90-page report the DOJ released following their roughly two-year investigation.

The Justice Department investigation began about a year after Taylor was killed during a botched police raid.

This story may be updated. 

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