LOUISVILLE, KY, May 26, 2023 – Throughout the month of May, the Louisville Urban League participated in the Department of Justice’s listening campaign. We attended meetings to contribute to the conversation, but also to listen to what our community members had to say about the findings in the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) report on LMPD. Transparency has been a constant request from community members, echoed since the DOJ released its report. Louisville residents want to know the names of the officers described in the report’s most egregious incidents. Today’s press conference by Mayor Craig Greenberg was a step in that direction. But the other constants have been calls for accountability and change. And on those issues, we are still miles away.

The Mayor gave reluctant and unenthusiastic responses to media inquiries about further disciplinary actions–stating only that the city would work within the bounds of the law and the previous LMPD union contracts. The information shared on the site already underscores the DOJ’s original premise: egregious descriptions of violence (in the report) against citizens in official LMPD documents are reduced to sanitized statements of officers making “trivial” mistakes. The very first incident listed on the site is a case where the reports filed by officers and their supervisors do not match the severe nature of the evidence found by the DOJ (pg. 12).  The LMPD union contract has historically been used as a barrier and shield for accountability. With this pattern of practice and poor policy in place, it is difficult to imagine how things will change.

It should be easier, not harder, to hold police officers accountable. And hold them accountable for not just egregious or criminal behavior, but for doing a poor job. Excellent job performance is just as important as constitutional policing. Police officers have the awesome responsibility of upholding constitutional values and the ability to deprive citizens of their liberty and lives through state action. Officers who fail to meet that responsibility forfeit the right to hold it. 

Transparency is but one step on the road to reconciliation and revolutionary change. But transparency without accountability and changes to policy and patterns of practice only serves to deepen the wounds inflicted on this community. If we are ever going to heal, things cannot simply appear different. They actually have to be different.

About the Louisville Urban League
The Louisville Urban League assists African Americans and those at the margins in attaining social and economic equality and stability through direct services and advocacy. For more information, go to lul.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter  (@louisvilleUL), or Instagram (@louisville_ul).