LOUISVILLE, Ky. — There's been a public outcry against some barricades set in West Louisville near the neighborhood Kroger on Broadway during Derby week. The blockade led to the grocery store limiting its hours for several days. On Tuesday night, Police Chief Erika Shields answered to Metro Council about why the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) put up the barriers.
What You Need To Know
- Barricades went up in the area of the West Louisville Kroger store during Derby week, which led to the store limiting hours
- Community members have since been outspoken against the barriers
- Chief Erika Shields says there was no ill intent, that the blockade was merely meant to manage traffic for Derby events and to keep the area free of congestion
- Shields said there was perhaps some miscommunication between her department and the city's public works, which installed the barricades earlier than planned
In a heated Government Oversight Committee meeting Tuesday night, one council member used the words "community chaos" to describe the confusion and concern that came from the barricades during Derby. The Kroger's temporary hours sign began circulating on social media: "Store Hours Derby Week Thursday - Sunday 7 a.m. - 5 p.m." It sparked outrage, in which some people immediately blamed the police barriers for the scaled-back hours.
Shields assured the committee Tuesday that her department did not force or tell the store to cut its hours. Shields says the store traditionally takes a different schedule as a courtesy to its employees. She was grilled on the optics of barriers going into the area of the West End.
"If it resonated poorly with the community, the intent here is nothing— it's, it's not ill intent," said Shields. "It's just trying to figure out, how do we navigate?"
Shields told members that she was told the area had been a traffic problem during Derby weeks past, and so the barricades would be necessary. However, Shields wouldn't name names as to who exactly advised her of such. Shields felt it was a better option than stationing officers in the area to control traffic and taking on a "police state" optic.
"The barricades allowed us to have some level of traffic mitigation without us being front and center, and quite frankly, it helps us because we're so short of people," she added.
Still, members expressed the desire for better communication. Some complained of a lack of notification before the barricades were installed.
"The communication was poor. The treatment of the people in that community was poor," said Councilwoman Paula McCraney, D-District 7. "And what you're suggesting right now is someone told you they didn't want any police presence is very troubling."
West Louisville resident Angel Todd was looking forward to hearing some kind of explanation before Tuesday's meeting.
"We see these barricades go up with little to no explanation on why," she remarked.
Todd not only lives in the neighborhood but is also a co-founder of The Hope Buss. It's a free ride and delivery service that gets groceries to those in need of help. The area of West Louisville is, after all, mostly considered to be a food desert. It means there are few places like full-scale stores and markets where people can buy affordable healthy foods.
It's not just the block of access to food that offended Todd.
"It also set the tone to how we look and view the people there. I personally live in the West End. And every time I drove by, I got emotional because I felt like we were entrapped," she said. "If we can't figure out a better way to treat folks then...that just leads us down a really dark path."
Todd said The Hope Buss went into action during Derby week to help people overcome the challenge and helped between 15-20 more clients than their usual.