September 19, 2024

• Thursday Thoughts
• 'Coffee With Your Councilman' - NEW DATE/TIME
• Once Upon An Orchestra
• LMPD Citizens Police Academy

Thursday Thoughts

Happy Thursday! I hope you're having a great week. Today, I want to focus my comments on the appointment of Paul Humphrey as permanent chief of the LMPD. I want to congratulate Chief Humphrey and all those recently promoted through his command staff changes.

I have had the privilege of working with Chief Humphrey over the past several years and have found him to be smart, honest, and a man of integrity. I believe he understands the challenges at LMPD and has the leadership skills needed to help reshape the department.

Prior to serving as interim chief, Humphrey led our reform efforts with the DOJ. He has been central to the consent decree work, created new audit departments, guided the revision of policies and procedures, supervised training, and more. In short, he likely has as much experience as anyone on the reforms we need to see. I am confident he will lean into this process and drive the necessary cultural and oversight changes.

At his first press conference, the chief talked about the current state of crime in our city. While homicides continue to be unacceptably high (and more must be done in this area), we are seeing progress in other areas. I think a lot of this is related to the stepped up enforcement we are seeing. I know many of you would like to see more officers patrolling (and count me in that camp), but I want to highlight that we are doing more proactive stops. One need only drive on the Watterson Expressway at rush hour to know that LMPD is out writing tickets - the type of proactive enforcement that can help prevent crime. I know this is a focus for Chief Humphrey and look forward to us continuing in that direction.

The chief did highlight the continued challenge with homicides, particularly our low clearance rates. It is shocking to hear that there has not been an arrest in approximately 2/3 of our shootings. That's a huge problem for two reasons. First, it means there is roughly a one in three chance of getting caught - not exactly a deterrent. Second, when crimes go unsolved, victims' loved ones sometimes retaliate. This creates a cycle of violence and is part of what we're dealing with today. At the center of this issue is community trust - when the community does not trust LMPD, no one offers intelligence or testimony that can be used to identify and prosecute those responsible. Chief Humphrey recognizes this as a key barrier. I know he is committed to being active and engaged with our community members, ensuring our officers are building trust and working together to make Louisville safer.

I hope you have a great weekend. If my office can be of assistance in any way, please let me know.

Contact the District 17 Office

Markus Winkler
17th District Councilman
Metro Council President
502.574.1117
Contact Councilman Winkler

Kip Eatherly
Legislative Aide
502.574.3462
Contact Kip

Follow Me on Facebook

Important Numbers

Animal Services  473-7387
Charmoli NP  574-5787
Codes & Regulations  574-2508
EACM  426-2824
Health & Wellness  574-6520
Jefferson Co. Clerk  574-5700
KY Science Center  561-6100
LG&E  589-1444
LMPD (8th Division)  574-2258
Louisville Water  583-6610
Louisville Zoo  459-2181
Mayor's Office  574-2003
Middletown Library  245-7332
MSD  540-6000
NE Regional Library  394-0379
Parks & Recreation  574-7275
Planning & Design  574-6230
Public Works  574-5810
TARC  585-1234