Five years after the police killing of Breonna Taylor, Keturah Herron asks: “Where do we stand today?”

In an op-ed published Tuesday in the Louisville Courier Journal, Sen. Keturah Herron (Leading with Conviction™ 2019) writes: “March 13, 2025, marks five years since the police killed Breonna Taylor in her own home. Five years since we chanted her name in the streets. Five years since her family, this city and this country first demanded justice. So, where do we stand today?

Five years later, citizens of Louisville, especially those in Black and brown communities do not feel safe.

“The unfortunate truth is that Louisville has seen little progress. With the initial momentum in 2020, we were able to ban no-knock warrants with Breonna’s Law. In 2021, we had a similar law at the state level making changes to the no-knock warrants process. There was a financial settlement between Louisville Metro Government and Breonna’s family. There were other policy changes, like housing credits for officers to live in certain ZIP codes, but we have no real sense of their impact. The U.S. Department of Justice investigated the Louisville Metro Police Department and found systemic failures resulting in suggested reforms negotiated and agreed to under a consent decree announced in December 2024.

“We have had a Civilian Review and Accountability Board (CRAB) and an early intervention system for tracking police misconduct since 2021. Yet only now are stakeholders providing the CRAB with the information it needs to investigate instances of alleged misconduct. When the CRAB recently released its findings, city officials met them with aggressive pushback. Five years later, we have little to show in return for what citizens of this city have been through. …

“Let’s be clear: Five years later, citizens of Louisville, especially those in Black and brown communities do not feel safe. Not from crime, not from violence, and certainly not from the people sworn to serve and protect. I hear people are fearful to report crime or have contact with LMPD due to lack of trust. …

“It’s often daunting not having answers for people who want to know what’s next. This is my offering. To all business, civic, community and elected leaders: We must act! Here is a path forward …

1. Initiate an audit of LMPD.
2. Determine corrective action.
3. Hire monitor.
4. Set accountability metrics.
5. Establish a long-term process to monitor implementation of the consent decree.”

Read the full op-ed at Courier-Journal.com.