Justice Department to investigate Louisville police after Breonna Taylor shooting

Taylor's killing became part of larger movement protesting against racial bias in police departments

Breonna Taylor, an emergency medical worker studying to become a nurse, was shot in her home by police. AP

The US Justice Department is opening an investigation into the Louisville Police Department, which has been under scrutiny since the fatal shooting of a black woman, Breonna Taylor, in her home.

“Promoting public trust between communities and law enforcement is essential to making both communities and policing safer,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the investigation on Monday.

It is the second significant “pattern or practice” investigation into police that the department has opened under Mr Garland, after the inquiries were largely abandoned during the Trump administration.

Mr Garland said last week that the department had opened an investigation into policing practices in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s killing.

An organisation representing police chiefs cautioned that such investigations should be “a collaborative effort”, and said the consent decrees that sometimes followed could prove costly and burdensome.

“Our communities don’t want less cops, they want better cops, and investments must be made in terms of training, recruitment and data collection,” said Laura Cooper, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association.

“Above all, involvement and buy-in from everyone in the department is a must because without it, change and modernisation won’t take root.”

Taylor, 26, was fatally shot in her apartment on March 13, 2020, when white plainclothes police officers forcibly entered it while investigating drug-dealing operations.

Her killing became part of a larger movement protesting against  racial bias in police departments, which led to nationwide demonstrations in the summer of 2020 and a greater focus on systemic racism in the US.

A grand jury decided not to file murder charges against the officers involved in the shooting, although Louisville police eventually agreed to pay Taylor’s family $12 million and vowed to change their practices after the botched raid.

Mr Garland said the Louisville Police Department took some steps towards needed reforms and that city officials pledged their support and co-operation as the Justice Department investigates.

Philonise Floyd, brother of George Floyd, wipes tears from his eyes as he speaks during a news conference after former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is convicted in the killing of George Floyd. AP Photo

The Rev. Jessie Jackson speaks at a news conference as the Rev. Al Sharpton looks on following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. AFP

Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is led away in handcuffs after a jury found him guilty on all counts in his trial for second-degree murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter in the death of George Floyd. Reuters

Thousands of people gathered at the site where George Floyd was killed on May 25, 2020, to celebrate Derek Chauvin's guilty verdict. Willy Lowry / The National

A man pumps his fist from out his car window after former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of 3 counts in the death of George Floyd. Willy Lowry / The National

A man holds a George Floyd banner outside the Hennepin County Government Centre where former officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty. Willy Lowry / The National

People gather outside the Hennepin County Government Centre. Willy Lowry / The National

A man holds a portrait of George Floyd outside the Hennepin County Government Centre. Willy Lowry / The National

A man holds an infant in his lap as he celebrates the verdict in Derek Chauvin's trial. Willy Lowry / The National

A person celebrates in their car after Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all charges. Willy Lowry / The National

A man holds a portrait of George Floyd outside the Hennepin County Government Centre. Willy Lowry / The National

A man plays the sousaphone in George Floyd Square. Willy Lowry / The National

A shrine to black lives lost to police brutality at George Floyd Square. Willy Lowry / The National

Charles McMillan and Genevieve Hansen, witnesses who testified in the trial, embrace in George Floyd Square after the verdict was read in the Derek Chauvin trial. AFP

Paris Stevens, cousin of George Floyd, speaks at George Floyd Square after the guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Mourners gather for a vigil for George Floyd following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis, Minnesota. AFP

Porchse Queen Miller and others march through the streets after the verdict was announced for Derek Chauvin in Atlanta, United States. AFP

Georgia state representative Erica Thomas hugs her daughter while listening to speakers speak before marching through the streets after the verdict was announced for Derek Chauvin in Atlanta. AFP

People celebrate at the George Floyd Square after former Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts in the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. EPA

A person pays his respect at a mural of George Floyd after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of Floyd, in Denver, Colorado. Reuters

People gather at the intersection of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue following the guilty verdict in the trial of Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. AFP

A woman places a placard at a makeshift memorial with the image of Daunte Wright after the verdict in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, found guilty of the death of George Floyd, in New York City, New York. Reuters

A protester holds a poster displaying the portrait of Ma'Khia Bryant as people gathered to the news that former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty of all three charges in the murder of George Floyd in Los Angeles, Californi. EPA

Shannon Haynes talks to her son Ronald Haynes, 9, about George Floyd in front of a memorial following the verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial in Minneapolis. AFP

He said the inquiry “will be taken with one goal in mind: to ensure policing policies and practices are constitutional and lawful".

"That is the same goal of our investigation into Minneapolis and of every pattern or practice investigation that the department undertakes," he said.

The inquiry into Floyd’s killing came after a white former Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, was found guilty of killing Floyd, an unarmed black man, when he knelt on his neck for more than nine minutes in May 2020.

The video of that killing ignited a summer of rage and the greatest racial reckoning in the US since the 1960s.