LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Initial negotiations continue between the City of Louisville and the Department of Justice (DOJ) over the first draft of the consent decree. It’s part of an effort to reform the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) after the DOJ found that police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights.
The investigation was prompted by the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor in March 2020. The justice department has asked that the draft document remain confidential.
But a mother and son duo are hoping for more transparency.
"I'm really big on justice, fairness," said Khalil Veneable-Collins, who's spending some time fleshing out his comic book character, Sarah Diamond, a cadet at African Best Restaurant in Louisville.
"Sarah's mother was a cadet before her and led a very great example for her. I'm very similar, led by example by my mom. My mom was a political activist, social worker, all these things."
While that's in an ideal world, what he’s seeking now is more Black voices added to the conversation.
"If there was a way that our community leaders, our mayor, other representatives and the DOJ can all sit together at the same table, have that conversation, that would be my ideal," he said.
His mother, Khalilah Collins, comes from a consent decree city, New Orleans. Now, she’s the community empowerment director of Dove Delegates in Louisville, an organization that helps find alternatives to law enforcement during a mental health crisis.
"While the city is negotiating with the Department of Justice, people who are impacted by these decisions are not at the decision-making table," she said. "So I would love to see people who are impacted by these decisions be at the table to help make the decisions on what moving forward actually looks like."
She said making decisions about people's lives without having them at the table cannot continue.
"What needs to stop happening is that there are people who are in power that say, 'This is what's going to happen,' and we just have to sit with it," Collins said. "What I want to see happen is people at the table to make those decisions. That's what needs to happen. Public meetings are not enough."
Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said while the DOJ report released in March 2023 was a painful picture of LMPD’s past, he’s respecting the justice department’s guidance to keep the drafts confidential and strive to keep people informed.
"We continue to listen to folks from around the community every day with meetings on public safety, on policing, on affordable housing, on all topics," Greenberg said. "We'll continue to do that, and listening to folks across the city really helps inform my team and (I) about what we know the city wants for our police department, for our city government as we move forward."
Veneable-Collins said he's hoping to move forward while making progress.
"I don't think that public perceptions change overnight; we can be doing all these things right," he said. "But how are we showing people that so that we can be having, like, a good relationship?"
City officials met with the DOJ last month for the initial negotiations on the consent decree.
On March 8, Louisville Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins shared the following update:
“As of now, I respect and understand that the DOJ is requiring that negotiations with the administration remain confidential. However, I appreciate that one of the mayor’s first requests to DOJ was for more community input, and as of yesterday, the DOJ has agreed to host community meetings later in the spring.”