According to reprimand documents obtained by the media via open records requests, four Louisville Metro Police officers knew that their peers were launching beverages at citizens from unidentified police cars and splattering people with puddles but did nothing to stop the misconduct. They have been suspended but will remain on the force.
Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel said in punishment letters that all of the suspended officers took part in a “chat” where a video of at least one episode of wrongdoing was posted. Two of the disciplined officers saw the wrongdoing while following the vehicle responsible for the events.
Members of the dissolved Ninth Mobile Division committed the wrongdoing in question. The letters of reprimand said that the incidents happened between 2018 and 2019 and that the police recorded and broadcast the incidents.
The U.S. Department of Justice stated that the Special Unit was created to go after violent crime and suffered internal pressure to generate statistics of arrests and other activities, particularly in predominately Black communities.
The Viper Unit of the Louisville Metro Police Department was disbanded in 2015 and replaced with a new mobile division. Detectives belonging to the Viper Unit, Operation Trust, and even some federal agents made up the Ninth Mobile Division.
According to Louisville Police Chief Steve Conrad, most killings, alongside other violent crimes, occur in a few specific neighborhoods, some of which are in West Louisville.
However, others had argued that increasing police presence wouldn’t make a difference.
An individual who did not want to be named remarked that what they needed to do was throw them in prison. Get started making arrests now. But they simply chase criminals out and return minutes after police officers leave and repeat the criminal activity.
Another man argued that a new unit won’t make a difference unless the cops themselves are different. They need to more closely resemble the locals.
