DOJ opens investigation into Louisville Police over death of Breonna Taylor

The Justice Department will open an investigation into the Louisville Metro Police Department and whether it "engages in a pattern or practice of using unreasonable force, including with respect to people involved in peaceful, expressive activities," Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Monday.

The probe is being launched due to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old unarmed Black woman who was shot and killed in her Louisville, Kentucky, apartment last March after police officers entered on a no-knock warrant in connection with a drug investigation; Taylor was not the target of the warrant and no narcotics were found in her apartment.

Garland said the inquiry will also determine whether the police department "engages in unconstitutional stops, searches, and seizures, as well as whether the department unlawfully executes search warrants on private homes." After Taylor's death, Louisville banned no-knock warrants, and settled a wrongful death lawsuit with her family for $12 million.

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Last week, the Justice Department announced it would start an investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department and possible patterns of discrimination and excessive force, in the wake of a jury finding former officer Derek Chauvin guilty of murder over the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed Black man.