LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville city leaders are preparing to spend $750,000 to hire an independent monitor tasked with holding the Louisville Metro Police Department accountable to its promises of reform.
Nearly 40 organizations applied for the role but the city has narrowed the list to two finalists: 21st Century Policing Solutions and Effective Law Enforcement For All. Both groups were introduced to the public during a community meeting Monday night.
The independent monitor will track LMPD’s reform progress, report findings publicly, and ensure transparency after years of controversy, including the 2020 police raid that killed Breonna Taylor. Federal oversight of LMPD was scrapped earlier this year, leaving the city to design its own accountability plan.
Felicia Nu’Man, the director for the Center of Justice & Policy Initiatives of the Louisville Urban League, said there have been far too many tragedies at the hands of police.
“I think if we get constitutional policing, we all can heal,” she said.
21CP Solutions includes former presidential advisers, the former head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and former police chiefs from Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.
The group already monitors Baltimore’s federal consent decree and has advised departments in cities such as Raleigh and Oklahoma City.
“We bring a team with incredibly broad, deep experience but everything we do has to be adapted and tailored to this community,” said Steven Dettelbach, a proposed monitor with 21CP.
ELEFA, is led by a former U.S. Department of Justice civil rights prosecutor and law enforcement leaders. The organization oversaw reforms in New Orleans and currently monitors the Minneapolis Police Department.
“New Orleans was considered by the DOJ when we started our work there the most troubled big-city police department in the country,” said David Douglass, president of ELEFA. “Today, after many years and hard work, it’s been a model in many ways.”
Some community members worry Louisville’s self-designed reform plan lacks teeth without federal enforcement. Both 21CP and ELEFA said they believe community oversight will provide the necessary accountability.
Neither group plans to relocate to Louisville, though 21CP has pledged to hire two local staff members for community outreach.
The city is collecting public feedback through a survey available until Tuesday. A scoring committee will then decide between the two finalists, though city officials said the panel’s members will not be named until after a selection is made.
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