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LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The family of a woman found murdered in Louisville's Parkland neighborhood is now suing two officers who were charged with not doing enough to help her before her death.

Amanda Berry, 33, was found dead in the basement of a home on Virginia Avenue just after midnight on Thursday, Jan. 30, 2020. Days later, Louisville Metro Police arrested 38-year-old William Sloss, Berry's live-in boyfriend, on charges of murder and abuse of a corpse in connection with her death.

At the time of his arrest, police said Sloss and Berry were in a relationship and were living at the home on Virginia Avenue where her body was found. Neighbors told police they had seen Sloss beat Berry on several occasions throughout the course of their relationship, and when the neighbors stopped seeing Berry, they started asking questions. 

Police said, on occasion, someone asked Sloss where Berry was and he replied "I got rid of her." Berry's family eventually reported her missing, and police went to the home on Virginia Avenue. According to police, Sloss told a witness over the phone that he had put her body in a plastic storage tote in the back of the basement and covered it with trash and other debris in an effort to hide it. That's where police found her body, according to an arrest report for Sloss.

Months after the murder, Louisville Metro Police officers Kiersten Holman and Cody Luckett were served with criminal citations for failing to provide assistance required from law enforcement in connection with Berry's death. At the time, a spokesperson for LMPD said following a Public Integrity Unit investigation, the officers were charged with misdemeanors in connection with the case, based on a prior incident that took place almost a month before Berry's murder.

Police said Holman and Luckett had responded to a domestic violence incident between Sloss and Berry in December 2019.

"The charges allege the officers failed to provide Ms. Berry the proper assistance during the December encounter, which was discovered by an LMPD supervisor during a review of the Berry case for the Fatality Review panel held for all domestic violence homicides," the spokesperson said in a statement at the time.

Holman and Luckett were placed on administrative reassignment in March 2020 and pleaded guilty in May 2021. As part of the deal, the officers took 18 hours of domestic violence training and the charges were dismissed.

Now, Berry's mother is suing Luckett, Holman, the Louisville Metro Police Department and Metro Government for negligence and damages.

According to a lawsuit filed Thursday in Jefferson Circuit Court, Berry's family claims she called 911 on Dec. 26, 2019 to report that Sloss "had not let her leave their residence for several days, and she had just gotten away."

Officers Holman and Luckett responded to the home and interviewed Berry, who told them Sloss "had taken her phone, held her against her will, hit her, and chased her down the street." The lawsuit goes on to say Berry told the officers she was scared, "requested help, and didn't know what to do." 

The lawsuit alleges the officers told Berry that there wasn't anything they could do but arrest Sloss, because his actions constituted a crime, and gave her a form for a mental health assessment of Sloss after Berry told them she thought he might have "anger management and mental health issues, due to his conduct."

The officers asked Berry where Sloss was, but his whereabouts were unknown. The lawsuit alleges they "inexplicably" allowed her to "leave on foot alone to retrieve her items from the residents, while they drove to the residence" where Sloss was found standing at the front of the house "and made no effort to pursue him as he fled on foot."

The lawsuit said Holman met Berry in the front of the home, escorted her to the back and "told her to go in alone to retrieve her belongings and to 'make it quick.'"

The suit claims the officers knew who Sloss was based on discussions that night in "an internal email that had been circulated about Sloss, indicating that police had recently been looking for him." 

"Sloss' records were accessed on the computer in one of the cruisers and Sloss' image was pulled up," the lawsuit states, also claiming Sloss had a record of domestic violence in a previous relationship. 

At the end of the December incident, the lawsuit said, neither Berry or Sloss were removed from the situation, "no forms were filled out. No charges were filed. No arrest was made," Berry was not taken to a women's shelter, no family members were notified and "there was no prevention or intervention of any kind."

The lawsuit also references the Public Integrity Unit investigation, citing a witness — an LMPD sergeant — who said the officers "failed to use all reasonable means to provide assistance."

Berry's family claims in the lawsuit that "any reasonable person, especially an officer in a position of authority and possessing knowledge and training," would have directed Berry to file charges, helped her in filing an Emergency Protective Order, arrest Sloss and get Berry to shelter.

The suit claims negligence against the officers for "breach of oath, breach of protocol and contract with the Louisville Metro Police Department, breach of duty of care, breach of duty to render aid, and failure to protect," leading to Berry's death. It also claims negligence against LMPD and Metro Government for conduct on Dec. 26 that constitutes "a failure to effectively implement policy, training and procedures to prevent domestic violence death," as well as "a failure to supervise and intervene" and "failure to take appropriate corrective action," resulting in Berry's death.

Additionally, the suit claims "loss of consortium" for Berry's three children who "will continue to suffer the loss" of their mother, "specifically, the loss of the care, guidance, nurturing, love, and companionship." It also claims emotional distress.

In addition to damages, the lawsuit also seeks a jury trial. Sloss is due back in court in March.

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