LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Metro Police Department is still in negotiations with the U.S. Department of Justice for a consent decree, which is a federal mandate for police reform.
But as that process continues, a local councilwoman wants to take it a step further to hold police accountable.
"So everyone says we want our city to be more safer, and we believe in public safety, well those who are in charge of enforcing the laws have to honor that as well," Councilwoman Shameka Parrish-Wright, D-3, said.
Parrish-Wright filed what she's calling the People's Consent Decree. She said she drafted the resolution based on the DOJ's investigation into LMPD, which was prompted by the police killing of Breonna Taylor in March 2020.
Last March, the DOJ came to Louisville and released a scathing report into the city's police department with its findings.
In the report, the DOJ said they believe LMPD and Metro Government engaged in practices that violated the U.S. Constitution and federal law for years, including excessive use of force and searches based on invalid search warrants.
The DOJ ordered Louisville's police department to enter a consent decree. The oversight agreement sets tangible requirements for change, metrics to measure improvement and timelines to achieve them. It's all approved by a federal judge, legally binding and then overseen by a independent monitor who must regularly report progress or any problems to the public.
Parrish-Wright used the recent arrest of professional golfer Scottie Scheffler as an example, after he was released from jail in just 72 minutes.
"Almost a million people that live in this city and counting who deserve to be treated fairly, just like Mr. Scheffler was," she said. "Because when I was in there, we didn't even get our bologna sandwich in 72 minutes."
The councilwoman was arrested during protests over Taylor's death, which began four years ago on May 28, 2020.
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