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Washington
CNN
—
The Justice Department issued a scathing critique Wednesday on the Louisville Metro Police Department after a nearly two-year review it launched into the force following the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor.
The review, looking at whether the Louisville Metro Police Department used excessive force, found that officers use unreasonable tactics including unjustified neck restraints, police dogs and tasers. The report also found that the police department executes search warrants without knocking and announcing.
“For years, LMPD has practiced an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city,” the report said.
“LMPD cites people for minor offenses, like wide turns and broken taillights, while serious crimes like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved,” the report added. “Some officers demonstrate disrespect for the people they are sworn to protect. Some officers have videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars; insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people ‘monkeys,’ ‘animal,’ and ‘boy.’”
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The DOJ found that “police officers’ forcible and violent entry into a person’s home strikes at the heart of the constitutional protection against unreasonable government intrusion.”
“But Louisville Metro’s and LMPD’s unlawful conduct did not start in 2020. As an LMPD leader told us shortly after we opened this investigation, ‘Breonna Taylor was a symptom of problems that we have had for years,’” the report said.
The department’s leaders failed to curb the “unacceptable” conduct, the report found.
“Failures of leadership and accountability have allowed unlawful conduct to continue unchecked,” DOJ said. “Even when city and police leaders announced solutions, they failed to follow through. In LMPD, officer misconduct too often goes unnoticed and unaddressed. At times, LMPD leaders have endorsed and defended unlawful conduct.”
As a result of the misconduct, the police department has paid more than $40 million to resolve claims of police misconduct over the past six years, according to the report.
This story has been updated with additional details.