LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, announced the appointment of Paul Humphrey as the new chief of police of the Louisville Metro Police Department.
What You Need To Know
- Paul Humphrey is the new chief of police of the Louisville Metro Police Department
- He was named interim chief June 25 after former Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel’s resignation
- Mayor Craig Greenberg, D-Louisville, said he expects Humphrey to bring stability to the department while also offering proactive leadership
- Along with Humphrey's appointment, LMPD announced big shakeups within the department's leadership
“The sworn and professional staff of LMPD work tirelessly each day to make Louisville a safer city,” Humphrey said. “It is a tremendous honor to serve our residents, business community and visitors. I am profoundly grateful to Mayor Greenberg for his support, and that he has confidence in our leadership. Our city deserves a top-tier, quality police department and I look forward to continuing LMPD’s commitment of providing exceptional services to our community.”
Humphrey was named interim chief on June 25 after former Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel’s resignation. He had been the acting chief of police since Gwinn-Villaroel’s suspension on June 12, who was placed on administrative leave for her handling of a sexual harassment case within the department.
The 18-year LMPD veteran has emphasized transparency and accountability as an important part of his leadership. In a July interview with Spectrum News 1, Humphrey said, “Change, including cultural change, is something that should never stop.”
"His years of experience with the department bring a wide range of expertise to this role but are especially important in the key element of working with our community," said Commonwealth's Attorney Gerina Whethers.
Humphrey will bring stability to the department while also offering proactive leadership, Greenberg said.
"We are a large city with many different neighborhoods, many different people, but we all want what's best for each other, just as Chief Humphrey does for his hometown," Greenberg said. "For Louisville, for LMPD, for this entire city, I am so excited about our future, and I'm excited that Chief Humphrey is the chief of LMPD."
According to the mayor’s office, Humphrey is a lifelong Louisville resident who started with LMPD as a patrol officer in 2006 following his graduation from the University of Louisville. He served as a patrol supervisor for the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 6th divisions. He was also a longtime member of the LMPD SWAT Team, and was promoted to SWAT Team commander in 2017. In 2019, he was chosen to lead the LMPD training division before being promoted to deputy chief of accountability and improvement in 2022, where he led the department’s reform efforts during and after a U.S. Department of Justice investigation of LMPD.
Community leader Rev. Charles Elliot of the King Solomon Baptist Church in west Louisville praised the hire.
“I am thankful to God that the mayor saw the wisdom and selected him because he is the person that really knows the community, know about the violence, know a lot of the little young kids out there just wanting attention and he knows how to work with them,” Elliot said.
Humphrey’s ascent to leadership came during a turbulent time for LMPD, with multiple sexual harassment lawsuits filed against the department. That includes lawsuits filed by married couple Maj. Shannon Lauder and Lt. Jeffrey Lauder, another one filed by 13-year LMPD veteran Lauren Carby, who accuses Lauder of sexual harassment, and a third lawsuit filed by another female officer against two of her supervisors.
He's the sixth chief to lead LMPD since 2020, a department that has had to handle several high-profile events and investigations, including the protests over the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020 and a March 2023 U.S. Department of Justice report that found Louisville police have engaged in a pattern of violating constitutional rights.
Humphrey said he's focused on looking ahead and not getting caught up in the last few years of leadership shakeups, adding his years of experience and familiarity with the city should help him in the role.
"We get caught up in looking back a little too much sometimes, and we have to learn from our history," Humphrey said. "There (are) a lot of lessons, both good and bad, that we can learn from the past. We have to be forward-thinking."
Along with Humphrey's appointment, LMPD announced big shakeups within the department's leadership. Humphrey said 16 of the 24 top positions will go to new people later this month.
Greenberg also touched on the negotiations currently underway with the Department of Justice consent decree. He said both sides are working in good faith to finalize the agreement and added they hope to have all of the details worked out by this fall.
A swearing-in ceremony is set for Sept. 27.