Consent Decree
Definition
A court-enforceable agreement between a police department and the U.S. Department of Justice requiring specific reforms after a federal investigation finds unconstitutional policing patterns. In Louisville, a consent decree was proposed after DOJ’s investigation that followed Breonna Taylor’s killing. The federal consent decree for LMPD never took effect: the Justice Department moved in May 2025 to drop the case, and it was dismissed at the end of 2025. Reforms now run under Louisville’s voluntary Community Commitment, checked by an independent monitor whose first report in August 2026 found most of the work still in its early stages.