LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Louisville Metro Police Department is now under the leadership of its sixth chief in four years.
Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, named Paul Humphrey interim chief June 25 after former Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel's resignation.
Humphrey had been the acting chief of police since Gwinn-Villaroel's suspension June 12, who was placed on administrative leave for her handling of a sexual harassment case within the department.
As the department deals with its latest challenges, community members are expressing their frustrations with LMPD.
“Changes have not been happening at the police department like they should have been under her leadership, and one of the key problems right now is the lack of leadership,” said Nancy Cavalcante, a member of the 490 Project, an organization that advocates for police reform within LMPD and its relationship with the Fraternal Order of Police.
Cavalcante said she thinks Gwinn-Villaroel’s resignation was the right course of action but holds reservations about the department’s new leader.
“Our concern about Chief Humphrey would be that he's coming from the same place," Cavalcante said. "He's been within the force for 18 years, and while he talks all the right words right now, he's saying that he's implementing change immediately."
"Where has he been for the last 18 years?”
She said she's not sure changes promised by the interim chief will happen.
“We are going to have clear instructions, plans and communication to both officers and the public about how we are going to behave and how we are going to address crime,” Humphrey said during a June 25 news conference.
Those changes include updates on how the department handles sexual harassment reports.
“Paul Humphrey is saying a lot of the right things that we need to hear and that need to happen, but I don't think we have any assurance that they're going to happen,” Cavalcante said.
Lyndon Pryor, president and CEO of the Louisville Urban League, said he feels similarly and a culture change at LMPD is unlikely to come from within.
“There's no reason to believe that they're going to be able or equipped to fix themselves," Pryor said. "It's going to have to happen from the outside."
Both Pryor and Cavalcante have pushed for more community involvement in LMPD decisions such as Fraternal Order of Police contracts and the looming Department of Justice consent decree, actions they said would go toward rebuilding trust in the department.
“Policing should work for all citizens and not just for some,” Pryor said.
During the conference, Greenberg said the city will not immediately begin a search for a permanent chief.
Gwinn-Villaroel took on the role of chief July 20, 2023 after a national search failed to identify a suitable candidate to lead LMPD.