The list of ten policing reforms Metro Council members voted to support Thursday night mirror recommendations in the stalled consent decree between Louisville and U.S. Department of Justice.
In a 13-12 vote, council members backed calls for the Louisville Metro Police Department to expand community outreach and respect residents’ constitutional rights. The vote came as President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to back out of the consent decree, which Louisville officials signed late last year.
Following the vote, District 3 Democrat Shameka Parrish-Wright, one of the resolution’s sponsors, thanked her colleagues and the residents who helped shape the legislation.
“It’s important that government not only hears, but truly listens to the voices of the people we serve,” Parrish-Wright said. “Your input has not gone unheard, and I encourage you to remain involved, continue speaking up, and share your vision for the future of Louisville.”
The People’s Consent Decree Coalition, an alliance of local activists and community groups, drafted the resolution that Metro Council approved. A significantly different version of the resolution proposed by the coalition last year was voted down by Metro Council by a wide margin.
Some Democrats who voted against the resolution, dubbed The People’s Consent Decree, last year voted in favor of the new version.
District 7 Council Member Paula McCraney said she previously voted against the resolution because she wanted to give city leaders time to decide how best to work with the U.S. Department of Justice. She said now, with the proposed consent decree in limbo, “we don’t have that option.”
“[This resolution] makes a bold statement about simply saying: We do care in this council and that no one should be able to say, ‘The people have spoken,’ if the people don’t believe they've spoken,” McCraney said.
Only one Democrat, Council President Brent Ackerson, voted against the non-binding resolution Thursday night.
Republicans, meanwhile, were unanimously opposed.
Council Member Dan Seum, who represents District 13 in the South End, said he felt the resolution was divisive.
“I didn’t see anything in the language that had anything positive to say about our LMPD,” Seum argued. “The bad guys are gone. We’re trying to heal now.”
Republicans unsuccessfully offered their own version of the resolution, acknowledging the work LMPD has done so far to implement some of the DOJ’s reform recommendations.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration signed a consent decree agreement late last year. With over 200 pages, it laid out a roadmap for reform, outlining dozens of changes to LMPD’s policies and training.
The Trump administration is seeking to quash the agreement, signed in the waning days of President Joe Biden’s administration. Trump’s DOJ filed a motion to dismiss its lawsuit and the proposed reform agreement last month.
Greenberg recently released his own version of the consent decree, which he’s calling a community commitment. He says the city plans to move forward with police reform with or without the federal government.
Louisville is still awaiting a final ruling on the dismissal from U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Beaton.
