Louisville, Ky., the city now known for the police killing of Breonna Taylor, once made ambitious promises to transform its police department and mend its relationship with the Black community. Just five years before they killed Breonna Taylor in her home, Louisville considered itself a model city for police reform.
In a joint KyCIR/Newsy investigation, ... Show More
Oct 2021
The Model City, Part 1: The Eye of the Storm
Barbecue chef David McAtee, the man they called Yaya, was a staple at 26th and Broadway in Louisville’s predominately Black West End. He was a friend to everyone who stopped by for a meal — including many police officers. For years, Louisville had claimed to be building bridges b ... Show More
25m 58s
Oct 2021
The Model City, Part 2: Promises
In 2016, the police chief laid out his vision: Louisville was going to become the kind of place where everyone across the city, no matter what neighborhood they lived in, would get the same treatment from the police — policing that’s about your protection, and safety. But that’s ... Show More
23m 4s
Oct 2021
The Model City, Part 3: People, Places and Narcotics
Even as city leaders were making big promises about the model city they claimed Louisville was going to become, they were making decisions that undermined those policing reform goals. In 2016, there were 117 homicides in Louisville — at that point, the most in decades. Police res ... Show More
32m 18s
Feb 2023
The Police Unit That Was Supposed to Keep Memphis Safe
<p><i>This episode contains descriptions of violence. </i></p><p>The death of Tyre Nichols, a 29-year-old Black man, at the hands of officers in Memphis last month has intensified calls for fundamental reform in policing. Those calls were echoed yesterday by President Biden, who ... Show More
32m 2s
Sep 2020
'Breonna Taylor's killing was an institutional one'
Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron on Wednesday said there would be no charges against Louisville police officers for the killing of Breonna Taylor back in March. Only one of three men involved, who has since been fired from the force, was indicted, and faces three counts o ... Show More
21m 12s