LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A first-of-its-kind community forum discussed the recent Department of Justice report on policing practices in Louisville.
City leaders, River City FOP and the NAACP Louisville chapter addressed the report in a panel discussion Wednesday night. Members of the community also raised their concerns.
Inside the second floor of the Frazier History Museum, about 100 people took part in the forum and one by one, a handful asked questions.
A majority of the discussions Wednesday involved the Department of Justice report released on March 8. It’s a concern close to Cheyenne Osuala’s heart.
“I feel like I was given the same old answers they’ve been giving, which really hasn’t been an answer. It’s been more of a ‘we’ll see or wait for this and then we’ll have an answer,’ but there’s never an answer at the end,” Osuala said.
She asked the panel whether the officers mentioned in the DOJ report will be held accountable or even terminated.
“Because we shouldn’t have people on our police force that are calling citizens monkeys or beating citizens up in broad daylight,” Osuala said. “So I’m hoping that we get terminations, but the fact that I couldn’t get an answer on that it’s really concerning.”
Vice President of the River City FOP Brandon Lincoln spoke at the panel. He said the findings from the DOJ report were revealing.
“I mean, it is a shock. I work boots on the ground, I’m currently employed, I’m currently employed by LMPD,” Lincoln said. “I work with the men and women who put the uniform on every day and I don’t see some of the things that the DOJ is saying.”
Mayor Craig Greenberg said through uncomfortable conversations and listening, the city and LMPD can build a relationship and increase trust.
“I think this is a very important evening, for the mayor, Chief of Police, the President of the FOP and the NAACP, we’re all on a panel together, having conversations and more importantly, listening to members of the community, listening to their suggestions, listening to ways that we can continue to reform and improve LMPD make our city safer, and help build more trust between all parts of our community and the government,” Greenberg said.
But Kathleen Parks, president of Louisville’s National Action Network, said more needs to be done to bridge the community to city services.
“We haven’t gotten justice for Breonna Taylor,” Park said. “We haven’t gotten justice for many of the citizens who are descendants of American slaves and when I use that terminology, I am referring to black citizens who have been wrongfully treated in terms of systemic racism, discrimination.”
Greenberg also said during the forum that the DOJ also plans on hosting a similar community forum on April 10.