Louisville community demands seat at negotiation table with city, River City FOP

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Upcoming contract negotiations between Louisville and the city's police union was the large part of a discussion during a forum over the Department of Justice investigation into Louisville Metro Police Department.

The Frazier Museum hosted the forum on Wednesday evening, attended by Mayor Craig Greenberg, LMPD Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, River City Fraternal Order of Police Vice President Brandon Lincoln and NAACP Vice President Raymond Burse.

While the intended focus was to discuss how the city will move forward following the DOJ investigation, much of the moderated discussion repeatedly circled back to the upcoming contract negotiations.

The DOJ's wide-ranging civil rights review that began nearly two years ago, promised to look at Louisville Metro Police officers' use of force, including against people participating in First Amendment-protected activities.

It found the department 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 search warrants. 

People who spoke before the panel, felt improvement's based off the DOJ investigation findings, can happen by allowing community members a seat at the table when negotiations begin between city officials and the FOP.

"Police will always get to go back to a document we know, is inconsistent with what the community wants," said Lyndon Pryor with the Louisville Urban League.

Pryor said discussion and allowing input is not enough. Community members need to be at the negotiation table.

"Public input is not the same as public participation, right? Public feedback is not the same as public participation, so when we talk about public involvement and engagement in the FOP contract negotiations that is having impacted individuals and advocates at the table to be a voice for this community." 

Mayor Greenberg said changes to the contract, is not part of the list of recommendations from the DOJ to improve patterns of practice within LMPD.

"They have told us that all, none of their remedial recommendations require any changes to the collective bargaining agreement," Greenberg said.  

The FOP contract will expire at the end of June.

Greenberg said state law is restrictive when it comes to this type of agreement.

"There is also state law that uniquely governs how a collective bargaining agreement between a police organization and city government is governed," Greenberg said. "That law we believe we are following." 

However, Pryor disagreed with the mayor's interpretation.

"If you can find a statue that says that, that tells us you can't have public people in there, please let us know," Pryor said.