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A federal judge in Kentucky has dismissed Louisville’s proposed settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over police reforms, after the department withdrew its support for the plan earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton ruled Dec. 31 that the responsibility for ensuring the Louisville Metro Police Department complies with federal law must rest with local officials rather than the federal courts.
“The responsibility to lead the Louisville Metro Police Department in compliance with federal law must remain with the city’s elected representatives and the people they serve,” Beaton wrote.
The decision follows the Justice Department’s announcement in May that it was abandoning proposed consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis — agreements negotiated under the Biden administration to address allegations of racial bias and excessive force by police in the wake of the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020.
A federal judge dismissed Minneapolis’ proposed consent decree in May. That agreement would have placed a federal monitor in charge of overseeing reforms.
Background of the Case
The Justice Department under President Joe Biden launched a multiyear civil rights investigation into Louisville police following Taylor’s fatal shooting and officers’ response to protests that erupted after her death.
A draft DOJ report released in early 2023 concluded that the Louisville Metro Police Department discriminated against Black residents, used excessive force, and conducted unconstitutional searches based on invalid warrants.
The proposed consent decree was finalized during the final weeks of the Biden administration but required judicial approval to take effect.
Under new Justice Department leadership, officials argued that the Biden-era investigations relied on flawed legal theories and that consent decrees were costly, burdensome, and ineffective. As a result, the department withdrew support for the settlements before they were approved.
Beaton wrote that his ruling does not bar Louisville from pursuing reforms on its own.
“Nothing in this decision prevents the parties from undertaking the hard work of reform themselves,” he said.
City Response and Ongoing Reforms
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg pledged to continue police reforms after the Justice Department reversed course.
The city has since adopted a local reform plan and hired an independent law enforcement consulting firm to monitor progress. According to Greenberg’s office, reforms implemented in 2025 include reducing a backlog of public records requests and releasing body camera footage of police shootings within 10 business days.
In a statement Friday, a spokesman for the mayor said Greenberg remains “committed to ongoing reforms” and emphasized that he “did something no mayor in the country has done — he voluntarily created and implemented” a local reform plan without a federal mandate.
Louisville enacted several changes after Taylor’s death in March 2020, including banning “no-knock” search warrants, which had been commonly used in surprise drug raids. The city also launched a pilot program sending behavioral health professionals to certain 911 calls.
Louisville agreed to pay $12 million to Taylor’s family to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.
Criminal Accountability
Earlier this year, former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison became the first officer involved in the Taylor raid to be sentenced to prison.
A judge imposed a nearly three-year prison sentence after Hankison was convicted of excessive force. The Justice Department had sought a sentence of one day of time served.
Hankison fired 10 shots during the raid after Taylor’s boyfriend fired at police from inside the apartment. Hankison’s shots went through windows and into neighboring apartments but did not strike anyone.
