LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Erika Shields, who resigned as Atlanta’s police chief last summer after an officer killed a Black man, will be the next permanent chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department, Mayor Greg Fischer announced Wednesday.

Shields, who will be sworn in on January 19, is “a well respected visionary both locally and nationally for her ability to build strong community and police relations,” Fischer said. He also emphasized that she was the unanimous first choice of an eight-person panel assembled to interview candidates and make recommendations to him. 

Shields will take over the LMPD at a time of great upheaval following last March’s police killing of Breonna Taylor. That incident and its aftermath, including the National Guard shooting of David McAtee in June, led to Fischer’s firing of former chief Steve Conrad in June. Conrad was succeeded by interim chiefs Robert Schroeder and Yvette Gentry. The FBI is also conducting an investigation into possible violations of Taylor’s civil rights. 

“I understand that there is much healing to do across the country, and here in Louisville,” Shields said at Wednesday's press conference. She added that leading LMPD at this moment provides an opportunity “to create a model for other cities to follow.”

“I believe that when LMPD identifies the path in which they can be responsive to their communities in a manner that is consistent with what the public should expect, and shows the ability to hold their officers accountable, then we will have hit that success,” she said.

Shields joined the Atlanta police force in 1995 after working as a stockbroker, according to her bio on the Atlanta Police Department’s website. As a beat officer, Shields worked in narcotics and sex crimes units. She was later promoted to Sergeant and began conducting Internal Affairs investigations. She also served as Lieutenant, Major, and Deputy Chief of the Field Operations Division.

In December 2016, she was named police chief by then-Mayor Kasim Reed. “Ms. Shields has the experience and respect of her fellow officers to lead the department," Reed said at the time. "I am confident that she will help create an even safer Atlanta while strengthening our reputation as one of the safest large cities in America."

Fischer praised Shields as a "change agent" and credited her with a three-year decline in felonies in Atlanta. A press release from Louisville Metro Government called Shields "advocate for 21st Century policing — with a focus on reducing crime while strengthening trust and collaboration with residents and ensuring accountability among officers.”

In a 2019 TED Talk, Shields discussed her philosophy of policing, including her belief in exposing recruits to situations that make them uncomfortable. "We have to get them on that trajectory where they see the biases of others and they don't let that dictate how they police," she said.

Shields’s tenure came to an abrupt end last June 13, hours after 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was killed by police outside a Wendy’s in Atlanta. Prosecutors would later charge an officer with murder for shooting Brooks in the back after he took the officer’s Taser and ran from him.

"Out of a deep and abiding love for this City and this department, I offered to step aside as police chief,” she said in a statement at the time. “APD has my full support, and Mayor [Keisha Lance] Bottoms has my support on the future direction of this department. I have faith in the Mayor, and it is time for the city to move forward and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve."

Fischer addressed the incident in his introduction of Shields Wednesday, praising her for stepping aside after Brooks’ killing. “When tragedy happened in her city, she put her city before herself, stepping down so she wouldn’t be a distraction as her community began to heal,” Fischer said. 

Metro Councilwoman Jessica Green, a member of the interview panel that unanimously recommended Shields, also seemed to refer to the Brooks incident in her remarks. 

“I stand by the decision of the committee and what I am asking the public to do is please give Chief Shields an opportunity to earn your trust,” Green said. 

Shields was asked how she’ll earn trust in a city still reeling from Taylor’s killing given the way her tenure in Atlanta ended.  “I would ask that people look at my body of work and see who I have been, what I have accomplished, and what I require of a department,” she said.

On Taylor's killing, Shields said that it didn't have to happen. She added, "This doesn't happen to white people. It just doesn't. It was heartbreaking."

Shields was one of more than two dozen applicants for Louisville's police chief position and by far the best, said Metro Council President David James, who was on the interview panel. “She just rose to the top,” he said. “I feel very, very confident she is going to do an outstanding job leading our police department.” 

The process of hiring the city’s new chief has come under criticism for a lack of transparency. Unlike some other major cities searching for a new chief this summer, Louisville did not name candidates prior to Wednesday's announcement. 

Amy Hess, Louisville’s Chief of Public Safety, explained that the secrecy was necessary to attract a high-quality pool of applicants. She said potential new chiefs would be hesitant to publicly apply for the job because it could risk their current employment or their credibility, should they not get the job. 

She also said the hiring process included an unprecedented amount of public input, between the panel and the 10,102 responses to a public survey that the city released. 

Keturah Herron, a policy strategist with the ACLU of Kentucky, said the hiring process gave her “concern.” 

“There was a complete lack of transparency from the city during the hiring process, and this chief comes to us after resigning from a department where community relations and racial tensions peaked prior to her resignation,” said Herron, who was an architect of Louisville’s ban on no-knock warrants, dubbed Breonna’s Law. “There is a current lack of trust between the city and its people. Making this decision without public input does nothing to rebuild trust or instill confidence in the decision.”