Judge dismisses Louisville police reform proposal with the US Department of Justice
Source: Scripps News/AP
Posted 5:43 PM, Jan 02, 2026
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 of the plan earlier this year.
The Justice Department announced in May it was canceling proposed consent decrees with Louisville and Minneapolis that sought to curb police racial bias and abuses after the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor that spurred nationwide protests in the summer of 2020.
U.S. District Judge Benjamin Beaton wrote in a Dec. 31 ruling that "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."
A judge in May dismissed Minneapolis' proposed consent decree, which places a federal officer in charge of tracking the progress of reforms laid out in the agreement.
Read more: https://www.scrippsnews.com/us-news/police-misconduct/judge-dismisses-louisville-police-reform-proposal-with-the-us-department-of-justice