LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Five years after a lawsuit was filed over use of force and intimidation by Louisville Metro Police against protesters in 2020, a settlement has been reached as the city works toward making lasting police reform.
Protests over the shooting of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police erupted downtown in late May and stretched for more than 150 days, leading to continuing clashes with law enforcement.
Taylor was killed by LMPD during an undercover raid of her home at 3003 Springfield Drive with a no-knock search warrant on March 13, 2020. Officers shot and killed her after her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, fired at police as they entered the home. The raid was part of a series of raids in other parts of the city that targeted narcotics trafficking. No drugs were found in her apartment.
Protesters packed the streets about two months later, on May 28, after the city released a recording of a 911 call from Walker, who said someone had broken into the apartment and shot Taylor.
The NAACP and the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky filed a lawsuit in August 2020 over the use of tear gas, pepper balls and batons against protesters, as well as mass arrests during those demonstrations.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court on behalf of Attica Scott—who served as a Democratic state representative from 2017-22—and several others and names as defendants the Metro government, then-Mayor Greg Fischer, police officials and several officers. Scott previously filed a complaint that she was pushed by an officer and hit with tear gas during a downtown protest.
The plaintiffs sought to have the use of “crowd control weaponry” banned from being used on peaceful protesters as well as monetary damages.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky and the Legal Defense Fund said in a news release Friday afternoon that a settlement has been reached in that lawsuit.
The ACLU accuses Louisville's response to these "largely peaceful" protests of being violent, citing the use of tear gas, flash bangs, pepperballs and other "military-grade weapons indiscriminately into large crowds, causing injury to peaceful protesters exercising their fundamental right to make their voices heard in support of racial justice."
The agency said after hearing calls from the community, the city has made changes to its policies on protest response. Those changes include: prohibiting the use of chemical and direct impact weapons for the purposes of moving or managing crowds at peaceful protests" and the creation of the Civilian Review and Accountability Board.
The ACLU said that while those changes "mark a step in the right direction," they—along with Scott and other protesters—"remain committed to advocating for greater change needed to protect the First Amendment rights of all protesters in Louisville and to fully achieve the reforms sought by racial justice protesters who took to the streets in 2020 and remain fighting today."
“It has been an honor to stand beside the thousands of individuals who flooded downtown Louisville in 2020 to make our voices heard and each of the plaintiffs in this lawsuit,” Scott said in Friday's news release. “Make no mistake: We will keep fighting for a better vision of public safety in Louisville—one that promotes equal justice for all and protects Black people and other people of color from violence at the hands of LMPD—and I will remain steadfast in lifting up the voices of my fellow Louisvillians in that fight.”
Louisville leaders pledge meaningful police reform
In the months and years since Taylor was killed, LMPD faced intense scrutiny from the community and the Department of Justice. The department has put major reform measures in place.
Louisville eventually passed a ban on no-knock warrants, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill limiting the use of the warrants statewide.
In 2023, the Justice Department concluded that Louisville police and Metro government for years allegedly engaged in practices that violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law, including excessive use of force and searches based on invalid warrants.
The investigation began after the 2020 police killing of Taylor, which prompted both local and national criticism of the police department and triggered months of protests. The federal probe cited 63 different incidents of alleged misconduct.
The city and Justice Department negotiated for nine months before agreeing to the consent decree—federally-mandated police reform—in December 2024.
But in May, President Donald Trump's Department of Justice moved to dismiss a sweeping police reform agreement in Louisville two days ahead of a status hearing in federal court.
The U.S. Department of Justice made the announcement on its website, saying the consent decree for Louisville and other cities "would have imposed years of micromanagement of local police departments by federal courts and expensive independent monitors, and potentially hundreds of millions of dollars of compliance costs, without a legally or factually adequate basis for doing so."
The decree between Metro government and the Justice Department was reached in the final days of the Biden administration, but needed court approval to progress.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said the city will implement its own version of the agreement called "Community Commitment — Louisville's Consent Decree." It mirrors the accountability and transparency measures found in the prior police reform agreement. That includes better training, changes to search warrant applications and improved officer misconduct investigations.
As for the actual reforms outlined in the original consent decree — city officials have said they’re still moving forward. Among the changes:
Revising use-of-force and training policies
Improving search warrant procedures
Ensuring traffic stops are conducted legally and fairly
Investigating police misconduct thoroughly
Addressing sexual harassment allegations within LMPD
LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said his department is committed to making those changes happen regardless.
Part of the community consent decree includes the creation of the Community Safety Commission, to receive and respond to reports tracking LMPD's progress. It's part of Safe Louisville, the mayor's violence reduction plan.
The commission is made up of 22 members representing citizens, government officials and community organizations, all appointed by Greenberg. The goal is to support the implementation of the city's Community Commitment: Louisville's Consent Decree.
The city also created the Metro Council Civilian Review and Accountability Board, an 11-member citizen board was a key reform promised by then-Mayor Greg Fischer and approved by Metro Council in November 2020. That board is led by the city's Inspector General, Ed Harness, who was just appointed to serve a second term.
The city also hired an independent monitor. Effective Law Enforcement for All, called ELEFA, was selected by reenberg last month to serve as an independent monitor. ELEFA was one of two finalists.
The selection followed a Sept. 15 public meeting where both finalist teams presented to residents and answered questions. Input from a community survey helped finalize the decision, alongside scores from a city-appointed committee.
As independent monitor, ELEFA will serve as a neutral evaluator of the Louisville Metro Police Department’s progress in carrying out the Community Commitment.
The group will report directly to the new Community Safety Commission and issue semi-annual public reports. ELEFA will also meet regularly with community members under a renewable contract with Louisville Metro Government for up to five years.
The public will have an opportunity to meet ELEFA officials during the Community Safety Commission's first meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 14, at the Louisville Free Public' Library's Main Library on York Street downtown, starting at 1:30 p.m.
Hiring an independent police monitor is part of the city's plan for police reform after the U.S. Department of Justice, under President Donald Trump's administration, dismissed two federal consent decrees—including Louisville's, in May. The sweeping police reform agreement was reached at the end of former President Joe Biden's administration, but needed court approval to progress—which had not yet been given.
Greenberg and Louisville Metro Police Chief Paul Humphrey have pledged to continue with the improvements recommended by the DOJ, even if they're not mandated by court order. The plan is to do so by implementing the city's version of the agreement called "Community Commitment — Louisville's Consent Decree."
In June, Metro Council narrowly approved a resolution endorsing the consent decree recommendations in a 248-page DOJ report in 2023 that concluded Louisville police 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 warrants.
The Biden administration's Justice Department reported the findings of its review March 8, 2023, nearly two years after the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor, which prompted both local and national criticism of the police department as well as months of protests.
The Community Safety Commission will serve as a forum for public feedback on crime prevention and police reform. It will receive updates on the Safe Louisville crime reduction plan and monitor its progress.
Commission members represent all LMPD patrol divisions and include stakeholders from the justice system, Jefferson County Public Schools, and community sectors such as faith leaders, crime victims, business owners, educators and medical professionals. The commission is co-facilitated by Misty Wright, executive director of community safety, and Chan Kemper, deputy general counsel in the mayor’s office.
The monitor will track reforms and report to the public on progress during scheduled briefings and through a dedicated section on LMPD's website. The monitor will also provide reports regularly to the new Community Safety Commission—which is part of the Safe Louisville crime reduction plan.
Related Stories:
Lawsuit seeks to vindicate protesters after incident involving LMPD SWAT ramming vehicle
Groups sue Louisville police over response to protests
State Rep. Attica Scott sues LMPD officers over arrests during Breonna Taylor protest
Rep. Attica Scott introduces 3 bills to address police response to protests
'We did the best we could,' LMPD chief testifies on city's protest response
Copyright 2025 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
