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Amid Calls For Transparency, City Agreed To Closed FOP Negotiations
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Activists say if community members aren’t allowed into the current negotiations, it could be five years or more before the chance comes again.
Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (https://kycir.org/tag/mayor-greg-fischer/)
Activists say if community members aren’t allowed into the current negotiations, it could be five years or more before the chance comes again.
As part of its historic, $12 million settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor, Louisville has agreed to implement several major police reforms, including creating an early warning system to identify officer behavioral trends to prevent misconduct. This is not the first time the city has made such a promise. In the wake of police shootings and as a response to critical audits, the Louisville Metro Police Department has frequently asserted that it already has such a system, or is on the cusp of implementing one. The current LMPD policy manual says it is actively using such a system. But it’s not, a joint investigation by Newsy and the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has found.
There is no time frame for the audit yet, but documents show the scope of work will be significant.
During a week when thousands have taken to Louisville’s streets in protest, many have pressed a demand on Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and police leaders — fire the officers who shot and killed Breonna Taylor. But Fischer and others have pointed to due process requirements for officers — some set in state law, others in a union contract — in saying there is no quick or easy action they can take to discipline the officers without a thorough investigation. Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was killed by plainclothes Louisville Metro police detectives in March, who burst into her home to serve a search warrant. Taylor’s boyfriend has said he thought the home was getting broken into when he fired a shot and struck an officer in the leg; the officers’ return shots killed Taylor.
Her death sparked national outrage and was a catalyst for the recent protests that have erupted in Louisville and across the rest of the nation. But so far, city officials have said firing the officers involved in her killing isn’t an option, at least for now.
The testimony will come as Louisville’s sex crimes prosecutor is raising new questions about a case featured in KyCIR’s reporting.