Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/tag/lmpd/)
Louisville Metro Police records filed with court officials provide new details in the murder investigation of 16-year-old Tyree Smith, who was killed in the early morning hours of Sept. 22nd while he waited for his school bus.
Louisville portrayed itself as a police department that would show the rest of the country how to reform. That facade came crumbling down in 2020.
Before he was arrested earlier this month for domestic violence, Louisville Metro Police Officer Harry Seeders had a long history of similar allegations. The police department was aware of this record when they hired him.
The circumstances of the case bear striking similarities to the investigation and subsequent raid that resulted in the police killing of Breonna Taylor.
The day after the Department of Justice announced its Louisville civil rights investigation, they delivered a huge records request to Metro government. Here’s what they asked for.
The details of the 2016 allegations — and how little LMPD did with that information — raise additional questions about one of the department’s more prolific cops.
Activists say if community members aren’t allowed into the current negotiations, it could be five years or more before the chance comes again.
LMPD Detective Brian Bailey got more warrants than anyone else. An analysis shows he relied heavily on confidential informants — two of whom he’s been accused of sexually abusing.
The old policy stressed that officers should only shoot at a moving vehicle “when it does not create an unreasonable risk of harm to innocent persons.”
The city is breaking with its past practice and keeping finalists for the position secret — even as many other large cities are doing the opposite.