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FOX 1st: A Kentucky judge refuses to immediately sign a police reform consent order forged by the Department of Justice and the city of Louisville during a hearing. One court participant called it a hasty attempt by the Biden administration to undermine President-elect Donald Trump.
Monday’s hearing was one of at least three ongoing lawsuits in which the Biden administration seeks to enact progressive police policies in a way that would be difficult to overturn at the 11th hour.
Kyle Brosnan, an adviser to the Oversight Project, said in an interview Tuesday that federal Judge Benjamin Beaton will “rubber stamp” the 240-page reform bill pushed in the wake of the 2020 police-involved shooting of Breonna Taylor. He said he refused.
Taylor died in a hail of police gunfire after Louisville police officers tried to serve a drug warrant at the home of her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, when Taylor’s boyfriend yelled “warning” through the door. A gunshot was fired, striking Officer Jonathan Mattingly in the leg.
Watchdog calls for 11th-hour halt to Biden Justice Department’s effort to ‘handcuff’ Kentucky State Police in Breonna Taylor case
Biden and Garland (Getty)
Brosnan pointed out that consent decrees, unlike other legal agreements, cannot be easily revoked by executive order or by one party changing their mind.
Brosnan characterized the Kentucky code reform as “woke,” but his colleague Oversight Project Executive Director Mike Howell previously called it “a laundry list of BLM-type standards” that the left has long called for. I called it.
The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund was also filed after Brosnan noted that LELDF leader Jason Johnson had “first-hand experience” with the Freddie Gray riots and the subsequent consent decree following the investigation. It was added to the court brief.
The consent decree alleges a pattern and practice of racial bias within the Louisville Police Department, including during traffic stops, sexual assault investigations, and the use of force.
“And the judge looked at each of those issues and said, ‘Okay, what’s the basis for that?'” Brosnan said.
In court, Justice Department attorney Paul Killebrew was asked to provide data on deadly force incidents to better understand the patterns asserted in the consent decree.
Killebrew reportedly responded that the Justice Department could not provide such information in order to “maintain leverage” in future cases.
Brosnan said this dynamic was a theme during the marathon hearings.
But the judge had given him until Friday to submit additional documents, so it wasn’t the Justice Department and city’s only chance to convince Beaton to sign the judgment, but time is of the essence.
Inauguration Day isn’t necessarily the deadline for Biden’s Justice Department to approve executive orders, but the time will likely run out soon after, Brosnan said.
He pointed to this dynamic as early in Trump’s first term when he fired Sally Yates, the acting Justice Department secretary who remained in the Obama administration, for refusing to enforce the Muslim ban. I likened it.
Proposed Chicago Police Department cuts could take city to court under consent decree, officials warn
Outgoing administration officials at various levels will continue in “acting” roles until the Senate confirms a new nominee.
Therefore, the Biden Justice Department effectively does not have time to finalize the executive order until either Pamela Bondi is sworn in as attorney general or Harmeet Dhillon is sworn in as head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, the attorney said. Ta.
Brosnan said at least two other police reform consent statutes are being applied through the legal process in Maryland and Minnesota.
On January 6, the Department of Justice reached an agreement with the city of Minneapolis to reform the department’s “unconstitutional and illegal practices” that it said violate the Americans with Disabilities Act and the 14th Amendment. Court approval is still required.
In October 2024, federal authorities filed charges against the Maryland State Police for allegedly violating civil rights laws.
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President-elect Donald Trump and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi are standing side by side. (Getty Images)
“The United States found that when MDSP used certain physical fitness tests and certain written tests to recruit entry-level service members, the tests disqualified more women and African American applicants than other applicants. “and because it was not work-related, it violated Title VII,” the court said. The document is read.
Maryland State Police disputes the allegations.
Petitioners on Monday pointed to how the last Trump administration began with then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ review of Obama-era consent statutes.
“As a judge, it’s well within my power to kind of put the brakes on and wait and see what the new administration says here,” Brosnan characterized his testimony to Beaton.
“Trump has a right not to be handcuffed by the Biden administration. Trump largely won because of America’s urban crime problem.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment.
Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.
He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.
Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.
Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduate of Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.
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