DOJ launches probe of Louisville police after fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor
By Rebecca Beitsch and John Kruzel - 04/26/21 01:52 PM EDT
Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) would launch an investigation into the Louisville Police Department, the second such probe announced in the past week.
The so-called pattern or practice investigation comes after the death of Breonna Taylor, an African American woman who was killed last year by Louisville police during a no-knock raid on her apartment.
“Those investigations, and the recommendations and actions that ensue, do not only protect individual civil rights. They also assist police departments in developing measures to increase transparency and accountability,” Garland said in the announcement at the department's headquarters.
The move tees up greater federal oversight of local police departments, giving the DOJ an avenue to bring civil suits against police departments with a pattern of using excessive force or discriminatory practices against certain groups of people, such as people of color or people with disabilities.
The DOJ on Wednesday kicked off the first such probe under the Biden administration, announcing in the wake of the guilty verdict in Derek Chauvin's murder trial that it would launch an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department. Chauvin was found guilty of murder and manslaughter in the death of George Floyd.
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https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/550302-doj-launches-probe-of-louisville-police-department
