June 19, 2019. WLKY
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A group of civil rights activists met with Louisville Metro Police Department Chief Steve Conrad on Wednesday to urge him to conduct an evaluation of the Police Department’s de-escalation training and policies and how well officers are held accountable for following those policies.
A co-president of the group CLOUT, Citizens of Louisville Organized and United Together, said they had a “positive meeting.”
They hope to receive more information about that review at an August meeting.
“It is our hope that, as we have now gotten to this point, that we’ll be able to come out with something tangible over the next few months that can really show the community what LMPD is doing, along with CLOUT and all of our council members, to really make this a safer place,” said Rev. Reginald Barnes at a press conference following their meeting.
The group has been calling for more scrutiny of LMPD’s de-escalation training and policies since the 2016 fatal shooting of 57-year-old Darnell Wicker. LMPD officers were responding to a report of a domestic violence incident when they encountered Wicker holding a tree saw.
Prosecutors, who declined to charge the officers, said Wicker was high on cocaine and acting aggressively.
Still, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer called for a “rigorous” evaluation of LMPD’s de-escalation training and policies.
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