LMPD reforms tested by a new wave of protests
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - In the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor, anti-police sentiments boiled over in 2020. A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation of the Louisville Metro Police Department later revealed a pattern of First Amendment violations during those protests, the result of “deficient policy, training, planning and management.”
The investigation found LMPD gave officers one day of training for protests that contained “…inappropriate content, poor guidance, and improper imagery, which primed officers to escalate police protests and predictably led to officers using aggressive tactics and excessive force.”
But on Monday, June 9, when hundreds protesting ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) marched in Louisville streets, no such escalation was evident.
“We learned a lot from what happened in 2020, and I get a lot of credit to the protesters that were out there the other day,” LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey said. “No one wants to see what happened in 2020 again. And that’s not just LMPD.”
When demonstrators marched on Monday, they did not have a permit to take their protest into the streets. LMPD did not intervene, and the protest ended peacefully.
“No, there was not a permit for what happened on Monday,” LMPD Deputy Chief Emily McKinley said. “However, we were monitoring that situation and there was not any public safety concern the entire time Monday evening.”
McKinley referred to multiple policy changes as part of on-going police reform.
The Justice Department found LMPD failed to review its actions in 2020. McKinley pointed to the department’s Special Response Team as an example of change. She said that team meets monthly to discuss policy for managing large scale events, including protests.
Copyright 2025 WAVE. All rights reserved.