Greenberg releases details of Louisville police incidents reviewed by DOJ

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration has launched a website showing details and supporting documents regarding 62 incidents of possible Louisville police misconduct from 2016-21 that U.S. Department of Justice investigators reviewed as part of their scathing report on LMPD civil rights violations.

The website went live Friday. It allows the public to examine each case and its aftermath, including the results of any internal investigation and the employment status of the officers involved.

The move comes more than two months after the Justice Department completed a long-awaited probe of the Louisville Metro Police Department that was prompted by the 2020 death of Breonna Taylor during a police raid.

The DOJ report did not identify specific officers or victims of potential misconduct, focusing instead on the pervasive issues within the department.

But Louisville wasn't content with anonymous descriptions of alleged misconduct, Greenberg said.

"In hearing those accounts of certain individual officers, I had questions; the (police) chief had questions. And the community had questions -- understandable questions like, 'What was the full story of these incidents?' 'Were they investigated?' 'Was appropriate disciplinary action taken?' and 'What needs to happen now?'" Greenberg said. "....We need to know so we can continue to reform and improve LMPD. And the public has a right to know."

The website includes 62 cases broken down in three categories:

29 cases there were reviewed by police and disciplinary decisions were made. These cases are officially closed and can't be reopened.
21 cases were reviewed but not formally investigated by police. These cases will be reopened and reviewed.
12 cases of possible police misconduct were not investigated by the department at all. Interim LMPD Chief Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel will review these cases and determine if an investigation is warranted.

"I stand here today and again for my commitment with the mayor, in my commitment to this police department and to my stance to always move forward with trust and transparency," the chief said. "And we are in a position as of today that we are showing our commitment."

Greenberg said the results of the investigations will be made public as soon as they are completed. And he said body cam videos available in the cases would be released within 60 days.

The DOJ concluded that it has probable cause to believe that LMPD and Louisville Metro government "engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law" that includes excessive force, searches based on invalid warrants and conducting unlawful traffic and pedestrian stops.

As a result, city and federal officials effectively agreed to enter into a court-enforceable consent decree requiring the department to make agreed-upon changes to policing practices.

The DOJ report included examples of purported 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."

Greenberg has said the report revealed “infuriating examples of abuse,” especially against minorities and women and children.

In one example noted by federal investigators, an officer said he used his flashlight to "beat the sh**" out of an intoxicated woman when she tried to bite his shoe while he pinned her to the ground with his foot on her chest.

The officer yanked her up by her arms and dragged her into his patrol car. He positioned the woman laying on her stomach across the backseat with her arms handcuffed behind her for over three minutes, according to the DOJ report. His actions created a serious risk that the woman would be unable to breathe—a condition called positional asphyxia, the report concluded.

"He said that he did not even know how many times he hit her in the face," according to the report. His supervisor laughed at the incident and did not turn it over for an internal investigation.

The incident occurred on April 29, 2020 and the officer involved was Officer Tom Stettenbenz, according to the newly released documents. Records show Officer Stettenbenz was verbally counseled for improperly positioning the female in the back of the police car.

In some of the cases police investigated and closed, the DOJ disagreed with the department's findings.

In a 2019 traffic stop, for example, a longtime Kentucky attorney claimed he was assaulted and unlawfully arrested.

The Department of Justice report found police used excessive force.

"At no point were officers justified in using neck restraints," according to the report. "There were no threats or acts of violence, and the man was handcuffed for parts of the encounter."

But the officers involved were exonerated by the department.

The DOJ report was critical of "glaring omissions" in police warrant applications. In one instance, the officer obtained a search warrant that was blank as to any probable cause for the search.

According to the city database, Judge Annette Karem signed it anyway.

Some officers are mentioned repeatedly in the database, like former officer Cory Evans, who was was sentenced to federal prison for two years in February 2022 after admitting to hitting a protestor in the head with a baton during Breonna Taylor protests.

The DOJ reported Evans - whose name was confirmed through the city database - was subject to dozens of documented uses of force and faced 9 different misconduct investigations.

"This officer was not alone in committing repeated violations," according to the DOJ report. "Some LMPD officers have violated the law and LMPD policy again and again over the course of years. In some cases, officers escaped meaningful consequences and remain on the force."

This story may be updated.