Louisville City Wire

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – On March 08, Mayor Craig Greenberg and the University of Louisville released The History of Policing in Louisville: A Fact-Finding Report on Institutional Harms, commissioned by the Mayor’s Office of Equity. The Mayor also shared plans for a future community engagement session around the report which will be announced in the coming weeks. 

“To truly move forward and implement meaningful and lasting change, we must look at the history of Louisville’s police and learn from the mistakes made,” said Mayor Greenberg. “While this is a painful picture of the past, I believe it can help point us in the right direction for our future as we make LMPD the most trained, trusted and transparent police department in America.” 

“The Office of Equity hopes the report will serve as a catalyst for meaningful engagement with Black and Brown citizens, women and other vulnerable communities,” said Joi McAtee, executive director for the Office of Equity. “Our vision for public safety should include solutions that address drivers of inequalities by examining the efficacy of policing and integrating historical experiences that improve traditional policing strategies.”

The goal of the report was to identify and document patterns of institutional harm in relation to marginalized communities dating back to Louisville’s settlement in 1778. The team was comprised of two historians, a political scientist and three student research assistants who used a broad survey of archival research, newspapers, organizational records, interviews, books and articles. Researchers received additional support from the UofL Anne Braden Institute. 

The 64-page report offers a historical context of policing and shares insight into steps that can be taken to change patterns of harm and abuse. 

“From harsher punishments levied against Black Louisvillians during slavery times to the segregation of patrol officers even 40 years after the police force desegregated to the disparate number of violent deaths of Black residents at the hands of Louisville police in the 21st century, our study revealed racial discrimination that is systematic, persistent, and inadequately censured. We simply need to do better,” said Dr. Catherine Fosl, one of the lead researchers of the report.

The Mayor’s Office of Equity will announce plans in the coming weeks for a community listening session where residents from across Louisville can share their thoughts and reactions to the report. Learnings from the discussion will be used by the administration to guide ongoing efforts to reform and improve how Louisville’s police department operates. 

For more on the UofL research team who developed the report, click here. 

Original source can be found here.