LMPD chief says 'many' officers cited in DOJ probe were previously disciplined, but no further investigations

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said Thursday that  "many" officers whose conduct was questioned in the U.S. Department of Justice’s investigation of the department have been disciplined, but no further investigations will occur. 

The news comes after police took a closer look at 33 cases of possible officer misconduct flagged in the report released in March that either were not formally investigated or weren’t investigated at all. Police also have provided body camera footage of all incidents highlighted in the report.

After a formal review of the cases, the chief said "no further formal investigations will occur." 

However, Gwinn-Villaroel, who was appointed the Louisville Metro Police Department's permanent chief last month, told reporters at the Edison Building that more than 30 officers were previously investigated and nearly 20 faced discipline, ranging from reprimands to firing. She also said two of them have committed an "additional infraction" that has led her to decide whether they should continue working for LMPD.

In addition, officers involved in violating civil rights by throwing drinks at people while on duty in the city's West End and filming the incidents are facing "severe discipline." 

Gwinn-Villaroel also said that since she was named interim chief in January she has fired seven officers in 32 investigations not related to the cases included in the Justice Department probe and has disciplined others, including one demotion, one "involuntary transfer" and termination hearings that could lead to firings or suspensions.

"These decisions are not easy decisions that have to be made," she said. "But, as chief, I know that these are necessary actions for the betterment of the department and for the community."

LMPD limited questions from reporters at an 11 a.m. news conference and declined to clarify the circumstances of those seven firings, including how those investigations started. A spokeswoman directed a reporter to file an open records request, which WDRB News has done.

Prompted by the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020, the Justice Department review concluded that it has probable cause to believe that LMPD and 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.

Metro government has agreed to be part of a court-enforceable consent decree that will require the department to make agreed-upon changes to policing practices. It's unclear when the filing will happen.

"The Department of Justice has yet to send us the first draft of the consent decree that is part of the reform process," Mayor Craig Greenberg said.

In May, the Greenberg administration launched a website showing details and supporting documents regarding 62 incidents of possible Louisville police misconduct from 2016-21 that federal investigators reviewed as part of report.

The website, which was updated Thursday, 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 Justice Department investigation began more than two years ago in the wake of the 2020 police killing of Taylor during a raid on her apartment.

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 earlier this year.

"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 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.

Gwinn-Villaroel said Thursday that Louisville is the first city "that we are aware of" to take the additional step of asking for additional information about individual cases cited in a federal investigation. 

"We wanted to do this to have a better understanding of their findings and how to develop systems and processes to ensure constitutional policing methods going forward," she said. 

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