A review by the United States Department of Justice has concluded that the Louisville Metro Police Department engaged in patterns of racist abuse against the city's Black citizens.
NBC News reports that the DOJ report found that Louisville officers were so flagrant in their abusive behavior that they even filmed themselves hurling racist slurs against citizens.
"Some officers have videotaped themselves throwing drinks at pedestrians from their cars; insulted people with disabilities; and called Black people 'monkeys,' 'animal,' and 'boy,'" the report states. "This conduct erodes community trust, and the unlawful practices of LMPD and Louisville Metro undermine public safety."
The review was conducted by the DOJ in the wake of the death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman who was killed by police during a botched raid in 2020 and whose death resulted in criminal charges for multiple Louisville officers.
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One LMPD leader told federal investigators that the deadly Taylor raid "was a symptom of problems that we have had for years."
The report noted that the LMPD, which is predominantly white, used "an aggressive style of policing that it deploys selectively, especially against Black people, but also against vulnerable people throughout the city."
The report faulted the department for frequently targeting citizens for offenses such as broken taillights even as crimes such as murders and sexual assaults went unsolved.