impact
Louisville Changes Public Nuisance Enforcement After KyCIR Investigation
|
Codes officials will no longer issue premature violations or encourage landlords to evict their tenants to avoid hefty fines.
asset forfeiture
Bill To Strengthen Asset Forfeiture Reporting, Penalties Advances In Ky. Legislature
|
A bill that would penalize law enforcement agencies that fail to report how much cash and property they seize through asset forfeiture is moving through the state legislature.
Under Pressure, More Kentucky Agencies Report Asset Forfeiture Seizures
|
Amid growing scrutiny of Kentucky law enforcement’s use of asset forfeiture, more than twice as many agencies disclosed last year how much cash and property they seized than they did two years prior.
This Fired Ky. State Worker Wasn’t A Beshear Donor. Her Replacement Is
|
The executive director was fired without the approval from the infrastructure authority’s board, contrary to the bylaws and the board’s past practice, and replaced with someone who has ties to Beshear but little experience in water infrastructure systems.
2020
Police Must Detail Seizures Or Lose Training Money Under Proposed Bill
|
A bill filed this week in the General Assembly would require law enforcement agencies to disclose more details about cash and property seized through asset forfeiture or be subjected to financial penalties. Rep. Reginald Meeks, a Louisville Democrat, is sponsoring the measure, which would beef up existing reporting requirements. Agencies that don’t comply would lose $4,000 reimbursements from a state fund for individual officers who complete continued training. Law enforcement agencies are already required to file annual reports detailing how much cash and property they seize, but not all do. State data analyzed by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting found just 11 percent of law enforcement agencies submitted required reports each year between fiscal years 2013-2017.
Criminal Justice
For Louisville Offenders And Victims Alike, A New Label: ‘Public Nuisance’
|
Louisville’s public nuisance ordinance is intended to provide a way to bust up drug houses and crime dens. But police and code enforcement officials have been increasingly focused on residential locations where crimes are reported — regardless of whether the victim or the offender lives there.
Politics
Beshear’s Transition Team Has Familiar Names, Longtime Donors To Family
|
Kentucky Gov.-elect Andy Beshear’s transition team will help craft his administration, and he’s stacked it with well-connected bureaucrats, legislators and longtime supporters of the Beshear family’s political campaigns.
Transition team members donated at least $358,000 to Beshear since his run for attorney general in 2015, according to state campaign finance records. About 80 percent of the 163 team members have donated to Beshear, either in this race against incumbent Gov. Matt Bevin or his 2015 campaign. At least 16 currently work for Andy Beshear as employees of the Office of the Attorney General. At least 70 members of the transition team have also been supporters of former governor Steve Beshear, Andy Beshear’s father.
Man Convicted Of Murder After Police Chase Left Two Kentucky Teens Dead
|
A jury in Hardin County this week convicted a man of two counts of murder and recommended he serve life in prison for his role in a crash last year that killed two teenagers. Shawn Welsh was being chased by three police agencies in October 2018 when he sped a stolen Chevrolet pick-up truck through a red light and collided with a Honda Accord being driven by Jacob Barber. Barber, 18, and Katarina Peeters, 17, were killed in the crash. Two other teenage passengers in the car were seriously injured, but survived. “We got justice for our kids,” said Barber’s mother, Sharon Combs, after the verdict.
Criminal Justice
New Court Ruling Could Make Expungement Unaffordable For Some Kentuckians
|
People who can’t afford to pay expungement fees might be prevented from clearing their criminal record under a recent Kentucky court ruling.
asset forfeiture
Conviction Or Not, Seized Cash Is ‘Cost of Doing Business’ In Louisville
|
Money seized through asset forfeiture provides leverage in resolving drug trafficking cases and has become an ingrained aspect of the justice system in Louisville, our investigation found.