DOJ probes Louisville after Breonna Taylor death

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Monday said the Justice Department is opening a probe into the Louisville Metro Police Department.

LMPD was the focus of civil rights protests after its officers shot dead Breonna Taylor, an unarmed Black woman, during a botched raid in March of last year.

Garland said the investigation will look at whether the Louisville police regularly engage in racially discriminatory practices.

U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL, MERRICK GARLAND: "The investigation will assess whether LMPD engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force including with respect to people involved in peaceful, expressive activities. It will determine whether LMPD engages in unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures, as well as whether the department unlawfully executes search warrants on private homes."

Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician and aspiring nurse, was struck by six bullets moments after she and her boyfriend were woken up when officers executed what’s known as a no-knock warrant.

Her boyfriend was injured in exchanged gunfire with police. None of the three white officers were indicted for Taylor’s death. One is facing lesser charges over stray bullets that entered a neighbor’s apartment.

Garland’s announcement comes on the heels of a similar federal probe into the Minneapolis police department announced last week. That city was wracked by protests after the fatal arrest of George Floyd last May.