- The Department of Justice released a report Wednesday on the Louisville Metro PD's pattern of abuse.
- In one instance, the DOJ wrote that LMPD officers bullied and injured a man in a health crisis.
Louisville Metro Police Department officers tormented locals experiencing behavioral health crises on numerous occasions, according to a scathing new report by the US Department of Justice.
On Wednesday, the DOJ published its findings from a two-year investigation into LMPD after officers killed Breonna Taylor during a raid in 2020. According to the report, LMPD officers toyed with one man experiencing a behavioral health crisis, and later physically abused him.
"In one encounter, responding officers mocked his delusions, called the situation 'fucking ridiculous,' and told him they could not solve crimes because 'we have to keep coming to see you for stupid shit,'" the report stated. "The officers made sexually inappropriate comments, including one officer telling another, 'Put your finger in his butt.'"
Interim LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said in a statement that "this is a challenging and pivotal point for our city, our department, and our officers."
"Now that the DOJ has concluded their investigation and presented their findings, we will continue our efforts in improving public safety in Louisville and making LMPD the premier police department in the country," Gwinn-Villaroel said. "We are committed to ensuring police practices not only reflect constitutional principles, but the values of the communities served by LMPD. We recognize that the process of reform is complex and will require sustained effort."
The 90-page report features a laundry list of police abuses and noted that the city's mental health dispatch service, Metrosafe, was frequently not activated when it should have been. The man who officers berated was later restrained as he attempted to enter a psychiatric hospital.
"As the officers took him to a psychiatric hospital, the officers taunted him for going to the hospital and called him a 'real fucking winner,'" the report stated. "The officers' behavior escalated the situation, and when the man attempted to enter the hospital before it was time to do so, officers took him down and restrained him, leading to an injury."
Sam Aguiar, an attorney for the family of Breonna Taylor, said that the report showed outsiders what residents of Louisville "have known for years," according to CNN.
The LMPD "have terrorized our city and have been protected every step of the way," Aguiar said on Wednesday, per CNN. "The department's practices have allowed far too many false arrests of our citizens, injured our citizens, and killed our citizens."