A Louisville Metro Police Department officer is under internal investigation after entering “ERO” — an acronym used by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit — as the justification for more than 100 searches of the agency’s license plate reader database.
The Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting revealed Officer Wesley Troutman’s search history earlier this month in a report examining how law enforcement agencies nationwide access LMPD’s data for immigration enforcement. Records obtained by KyCIR show police from more than a dozen states queried LMPD’s system about 1,700 times between January and mid-July 2025 using immigration-related keywords. Troutman alone accounted for 150 of those searches.
The practice drew concern because sharing data for immigration enforcement could violate a Louisville ordinance that limits LMPD’s involvement with federal immigration efforts. Under that law, police are prohibited from questioning, detaining or arresting someone solely for civil immigration violations or taking law enforcement action for the purpose of identifying undocumented residents.
Audits reviewed by KyCIR show Troutman used “ERO” as the reason for 123 searches in March 2025 — shortly before federal officials announced the arrests of 81 immigrants in a Kentucky operation “coordinated out of Louisville” as part of Trump’s “Operation Take Back America.” ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit, or ERO, leads arrests and deportations of undocumented people.
After KyCIR asked LMPD about Troutman’s searches in late October, spokesperson Sgt. Matt Sanders said the department was “reviewing this matter.” Sanders confirmed this week that LMPD’s Professional Standards Unit has opened a formal investigation. Troutman remains on duty while the inquiry is underway.
KyCIR also documented more than two dozen searches in which Troutman listed “immigration” as the justification. Sanders previously claimed those searches were tied to criminal investigations, not immigration status, and that LMPD found “no evidence of misuse.”
Amber Duke, executive director of the ACLU of Kentucky, said she is encouraged by the investigation and hopes the public will eventually receive a report explaining “what exactly was going on with these searches.” Many residents fear immigration enforcement, she said, and any perception that LMPD is assisting ICE erodes trust and undermines public safety.
Louisville Metro Council Member JP Lyninger, a Democrat representing District 6, said Troutman’s actions appear to violate the ordinance. He welcomed the investigation but emphasized the need for accountability. In his view, the city must either enforce the law or repeal it — “but we can’t have a law that we aren’t enforcing.”
Lyninger said he would also like Louisville Inspector General Ed Harness to review the case as an independent authority.
LMPD uses Flock Safety’s automated license plate reader cameras, which capture and store images of vehicles. Flock allows police agencies across the country to share and search each other’s data. Recent reporting from 404 Media and other outlets shows some agencies have used Flock systems to assist ICE, either by conducting searches on federal agents’ behalf or granting direct access.
KyCIR’s review found that an agency listed as “ATF Louisville KY” conducted 120 searches of LMPD’s data using immigration-related keywords, including “ERO,” around the same time Troutman did. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives operates a Louisville field office, but a spokesperson declined to comment because of the ongoing federal government shutdown.
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