LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – – Louisville police will resume investigating shootings involving officers from the department, reversing a 2020 policy that put Kentucky State Police in charge of those incidents -- a move meant to improve public trust in the wake of the shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

The department also pledged to release officer-worn camera footage of the shootings within 10 business days.

Mayor Craig Greenberg and his police chief, Jacqueline Gwinn-Villaroel, announced Thursday that the changes "will provide greater transparency to the public" and ensure there are additional reviews outside of LMPD. 

Gwinn-Villaroel said she will "personally supervise" the investigations by the Public Integrity Unit, which will also be reviewed by state police and the city's inspector general. The Jefferson Commonwealth's Attorney's office ultimately will decide if charges are warranted. 

"This will make as much information public as possible while protecting the integrity of the case," she said.

Shortly after a Louisville Metro Police officer shot and killed a man who was allegedly firing at officers in Clifton on Aug. 3, Greenberg said the department would investigate the incident itself, the first indication of a possible policy change. 

Greenberg and Gwinn-Villaroel have said they "inherited" the policy from the administration of former Mayor Greg Fischer and have been evaluating it for months.

The mayor said Thursday the Fischer-era policy was "inconsistently applied and needed to be strengthened."

KSP has been criticized for how long it has taken to release body camera video of the LMPD shootings to be made public, as well as answering questions or releasing details of the investigations.

LMPD had previously released body camera footage, names of officers involved, photos and employment files of officers within 24 hours of a police shooting. Typically, it takes several days or even weeks for KSP to release the footage.

However, the chief and Greenberg are not promising a return to the previous LMPD schedule. Under the new policy, the city aims to release body camera video within 10 business days.

This is a move that is met with some skepticism.

"Well, they've had that ball once before and it didn't go too well. So I'm interested to see how it goes this time," Frank Anderson said.

As a state representative, Attica Scott filed legislation to create a separate commission to investigate officer-involved shootings. She didn't support KSP investigating LMPD shootings, and does not support this recent move either.

"That's police policing themselves. We're told to trust the process when the process doesn't include accountability, responsibility or transparency," Scott said.

LMPD Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey said there could be exceptions to that timeframe, such as in cases with multiple witnesses or officers with body camera footage. But he promised those cases would be "few and far between." 

The new policy calls for police to brief citizens and media on basic details of the shooting shortly after it occurs and provide updates on the investigation every 30 days. 

As the city and the department promises consistency, transparency and accountability, Anderson asks for something in return for his trust in the policy.

"Show me the proof. Show me the proof," Anderson said.

Names of the officer or officers involved along with personnel information will also be released shortly after the shooting, officials said. 

Once the LMPD investigation is complete, it will be sent simultaneously to KSP, the inspector general and prosecutors. 

The Office of Inspector General was created in 2020 after the Taylor shooting and tasked with investigating citizen complains of police misconduct.

Ed Harness, named as inspector general and assigned to head up the civilian review board, has repeatedly complained about LMPD refusing access to body cam footage and documents as well as making officers available to interviews.

Harness said the relationship with LMPD has improved, and the policy is a nice step forward.

"Automatically getting the file as opposed to waiting for a complaint to come in, or some other action so that we know and the public will know every time one of these incidents happened, our office is gonna be involved in the review, is a big step toward transparency," Harness said.

As part of the Department of Justice's scathing report on LMPD in March, investigations into shootings by officers was described as "flawed."

"Criminal investigators often asked leading questions of both officers and witnesses, at times suggesting possible justifications for the officer's use of force to interviewees," according to the report. "Investigators also failed to resolve discrepancies between officer or witness statement."

That slowed after LMPD officers killed Taylor as the city decided to turn police shooting investigations over to KSP, which has statewide jurisdiction and investigates police shootings throughout the state at the request of local law enforcement agencies.

In July 2020, Fischer announced that KSP would conduct independent investigations into LMPD shootings in an effort to improve public trust. 

This story will be updated.

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