Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg’s administration has tapped the nonprofit Effective Law Enforcement for All to oversee the city’s police reform effort.
Effective Law Enforcement for All, or ELEFA, is currently the monitor in Minneapolis, where they’re tasked with holding officials there accountable to their reform goals. In Louisville, ELEFA will have Michael Harrison serve as the head monitor. Harrison formerly led the New Orleans and Baltimore Police Departments while both departments were under federal consent decrees.
Harrison, along with a team of lawyers, former police officials and policy experts, will be responsible for ensuring Louisville Metro is making progress toward implementing Greenberg’s Community Commitment. That plan mostly mirrors the set of changes to policies and training that came out of the U.S. Department of Justice’s scathing 2023 report on Louisville’s unconstitutional and discriminatory policing.
The local plan came to be after the DOJ under President Donald Trump walked away from implementing an agreement that would have placed Louisville’s reform process under the mandate of a federal judge.
In a statement Friday, Greenberg said it was a close call between ELEFA and the other finalist, 21st Century Policing Solutions. He said the results of a survey filled out by residents ended up being the deciding factor.
“This is a win for accountability, transparency, and our continued commitment to reform,” he said. “We’re on the right track, and we’re going to keep creating an even safer, stronger, healthier Louisville.”
The city will soon start contract negotiations with ELEFA, which will be renewable for up to five years. Greenberg said residents will have another opportunity to meet with the team at a meeting scheduled for Oct. 14 at the Louisville Free Public Library's main branch downtown.
As the selected monitoring team, ELEFA will be expected to review policy and training changes, as well as data on police activities like traffic stops, arrests and search warrants. They’ll also release semiannual progress reports to the public.
ELEFA has promised to hold public forums and meet with local advocacy groups interested in being part of the reform process.
At a meeting organized by the city last month, representatives for ELEFA and the other finalist spoke directly to residents. Harrison told attendees that his firm’s commitment to public engagement sets them apart.
“We want to make sure that we engage, educate and equip the community and bring the community along as the police department and the city have made promises to transform itself,” Harrison said. “It is our specialty that we, at some point, turn this over to you.”
In addition to Harrison, ELEFA’s team in Louisville will include co-founder David Douglass, the deputy consent decree monitor in New Orleans, and Brian Corr, the past president of the National Association for Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement.
Louisville officials have set a $750,000 cap for annual monitoring costs. Implementing all the reforms laid out in the Community Commitment is likely to take years.
