LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville’s police chief says her team has finished its review of dozens of incidents referenced in a blistering Department of Justice report on LMPD, and there will be no further investigations or discipline.

What You Need To Know

  • The Louisville Metro Police Department says it has completed its review of dozens of incidents referenced in a U.S. Department of Justice report

  • The department also released hours of body camera video

  • The DOJ report says LMPD has a history of discrimination and excessive force  

  • The chief says officers received discipline ranging from written reprimands to termination 

Five months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice released a report saying Louisville’s police department has a history of discrimination and excessive force.

It referenced 62 LMPD incidents that the city says occurred between 2016 and 2021.

“Out of the 62 incidents, over 30 officers were formally investigated through [the professional standards unit and public integrity unit] and nearly 20 officers received formal discipline, ranging from written reprimands to a termination,” said Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel Thursday. 

In May, the city said it had asked DOJ for more information and would review the incidents that hadn’t already been investigated by the professional standards unit.

Thursday, the department announced the review was complete and released about 50 hours of body camera video connected to the DOJ report.

Page 12 of the DOJ report states that a woman who had been fighting with friends tried to bite the outside of an officer’s shoe and the officer struck the woman’s face repeatedly with a flashlight.

A use of force report on the LMPD website states the force was reasonable.

“I don’t know how many times I hit her,” the officer can be heard saying on camera. “You’ll have to count on camera. Probably four or five. I don’t know.”

According to LMPD records, the officer was not disciplined.

Officials said “severe discipline” has been imposed on some people referenced in the report, but they could not comment on individual cases.

“Some of the officers who’ve been recommended for disciplinary action are appealing and are just in the early stages of the appeals process,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville. “Under Kentucky state law, a law that seems ridiculous, quite frankly, to me, Metro government can release information about officer discipline cases, but neither the chief, nor I, nor anyone in Metro government can comment on those cases until the entire appeals process is complete.”

The department has improved policies on use of force, K-9s and body camera procedures since the DOJ began its investigation, said Gwinn-Villaroel, who asked the public for input on policies and procedures.

Since she took office seven months ago, the chief has launched over 30 investigations into alleged policy violations, the department has completed 69 investigations, the chief has fired seven officers, with four pending, and the department has imposed discipline on 39 cases, Gwinn-Villaroel said.

That discipline is not related to the 62 incidents in the DOJ report, according to LMPD.

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