LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Officially signed into law Dec. 2, the creation of a civilian review board with oversight and accountability of LMPD officially opened the door for anyone interested to toss their hat in the ring.
A city spokesperson said there has been over 300 self-nominations into the mayor's office as of the weekend.
"I think it's absolutely fantastic that people take such interest in this, because it means they really want to be involved with our government and I think that's important," said Metro Council President David James (D-6).
James said there are also 75 people who applied through Metro Council's nomination process. He said those who self-nominated that he spoke are interested in the position because they want to see LMPD improve.
"A big number of them wanted the civilian review board to be the vehicle that helped build back trust between the community and the police department and the police department and the community," James said.
The civilian review board will have 11 members that oversee the Office of the Inspector General and have the power to investigate cases of alleged misconduct by LMPD officers.
"I created a work group and they narrowed that field down to six people," James said. "The council will vote on that January 4 and send that over to the mayor's office on January 4 as well."
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Next, Mayor Greg Fischer will choose three of Metro Council's nominations, four of his own choice, two self-nominations and four others recommended by various community organizations. Those organizations include the Urban League, the Louisville branch of the NAACP, the ACLU of Kentucky and a few others. Those the mayor appoints to serve on the board will require Metro Council approval.
"I think that that will help people feel confident that the right things are taking place with their police department and that there's good oversight over the police department," James said. "Ultimately the civilian review board will help establish legitimacy and credibility of the police department, LMPD, which it has lost quite a bit of that over the last few years due to poor leadership."
James said the new year will usher in steps towards reestablishing trust and credibility in LMPD.
"We'll have a brand new police chief, we'll have a civilian review board, we'll have an Office of the Inspector General and well have the Hillard Heintze report, a total study of the police department to begin the new year with and to revamp our police department and revamp public safety," James said.
Hillard Heintze is an outside agency the city hired in 2020 to conduct a top-to-bottom review of LMPD and suggest areas for changes and improvements.
Office of the Inspector General applications close Dec. 31, while self-nominations for the civilian review board close Jan. 4.
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