Police Discriminate against Blacks-U. S. Department of Justice
2023.03.08 12:46
Police Discriminate against Blacks-U. S. Department of Justice
By Ray Johnson
Budrigannews.com – The U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday that the Louisville, Kentucky police department that shot and killed Breonna Taylor in 2020 routinely discriminates against Black residents, uses excessive force, and conducts illegal searches.
Nearly two years ago, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland launched a civil rights investigation into the Louisville-Jefferson County government and the police department to see if police routinely use excessive force and conduct unconstitutional searches. The department’s findings come nearly two years later.
Garland stated at a news conference that the department and the Louisville police had reached a “consent decree,” which mandates the use of an independent monitor to oversee policing reforms.
“This behavior cannot continue. It breaks your heart. Garland stated, “It erodes the community trust necessary for effective policing.” Additionally, it is disrespectful to the Louisville community, which deserved better.”
According to Garland, some Louisville police officers had shown disrespect for the people they were sworn to protect by calling Black people “monkeys” and insulting people with disabilities.
On March 13, 2020, Louisville police executing a no-knock warrant broke into Taylor’s apartment while she and her boyfriend were asleep. Taylor is an emergency medical technician who is 26 years old.
Taylor was shot and killed by police after her boyfriend fired at them thinking they were intruders.
In 2020, Taylor’s death, in addition to the murders of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, sparked outrage and sparked the Black Lives Matter protests, which reached their zenith that summer.
The deaths of Taylor and Floyd prompted the Justice Department in 2021 to initiate civil rights investigations, also known as “pattern or practice” probes, into the police departments in Louisville and Minneapolis to ascertain whether or not they were involved in systemic abuses.
The Minneapolis review’s findings have not yet been made public.
In 2021, Garland also announced new policies that forbid federal law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, from making “no-knock” entries like the one that local police used against Taylor.
Kelly Goodlett, a former Louisville detective, entered a guilty plea in 2022 to federal charges that she assisted in the falsification of the search warrant that resulted in Taylor’s death.
