LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville's new chief of police has already been leading the department for nearly three months and Mayor Craig Greenberg is already painting him as a symbol of change within LMPD.
Greenberg appointed 18-year police veteran, and interim police chief, Paul Humphrey as the permanent chief on Monday.
The mayor said he believes Humphrey is the right person to increase morale internally and across the city.
"He's earned my trust and he's earned the trust of the community," he said.
Greenberg painted the chief as a symbol of change, accountability and a future for moving forward for LMPD.
"We can get caught at looking back a little too much sometimes," Humphrey said. "We have to learn from our history and there are a lot of lessons, both good and bad, that we can learn from the past. We have to look at where we want to be and focus on that. We're not going to be perfect and we are going to have inconsistencies. The mayor brought up a word that I value very much, it's respect."
Humphrey said the city and community can agree and disagree as much as they want about how to keep people safe, but he expects all of us to treat each other with respect and looking forward.
"It's this type of work that gets this thing done," Humphrey said. "It is not any of us standing up here, it is not any of the command staff sitting over there it is the average police officer that's out on the street working with the community every day that gets this done."
Humphrey has the support from a west Louisville pastor who's been calling for action against violence in his community.
Rev. Charles Elliott Jr. of King Solomon Missionary Baptist Church said he's glad the mayor chose a Louisville native for the position.
"Letting the community see him is important," Elliott said. "Many of them sometimes get into the office and let the office take control of them rather they come to the community. Humphrey has that ability and has been doing that through the years. I'm thankful to God that the mayor saw his wisdom and selected him. He is the person who really knows the community, knows about the violence, know a lot of the little young kids out here who just want attention. And he knows how to work with them."
District 1 Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins, who is also the chair for the Public Safety Committee, also praised the chief's commitment to the city and is glad the mayor didn't start another nationwide search for a new leader.
"Bringing in someone new... they won't have the same set of lenses that I believe Paul Humphrey has," Hawkins said. "He knows exactly what to do, how to execute and I think we should support that. Why bring in someone new? They have to learn new people. They have to do a lot of investigating and it takes time to learn people."
Hawkins said the committee will be keeping a close eye on the chief and each move he makes from this day forward.
During his speech, Humphrey announced several promotions and change of positions for 16 out of the 24 command staff members. He said it has nothing to do with previous command staff but rather putting the right people in the right places.
"I think unfortunately we've found ourselves in a situation, I've learned all to well, that in the last couple of months we can go from issue to issue, or crises to crises," Humphrey said. "And we end up as the product of those crises as opposed for having a vision of where we should be."
He also announced that the Special Investigation Division, which contains the Public Integrity Unit and Professional Standards Unit, will now be two separate divisions. It's his way of bringing oversight and accountability to those units. He wants close management over these important investigations.
Humphrey said to improve a place you have to be a part of it. He said within the past four to five years improving the department has been focused on scolding or punishment and that it needs to change.
"It's never gotten me to be better," the chief said. "You can call me names all day long, you can tell me how horrible I am all day long but it's never caused me to improve. It's people having faith in me and knowing I can do a good job, and LMPD and the city needs people to have faith in them."
Meanwhile, the chief will lead the department as the ongoing consent decree enters "intensive discussions" with the Department of Justice. Greenberg said he hopes to conclude negotiations by this fall.
"Chief Humphrey is the right person as we finalize the consent decree and then implement the consent decree as well over the coming years," Greenberg said. "Our team... met last week with the DOJ, they are meeting three days this week, everyone is working in good faith as quick as possible to try and wrap up those negotiations."
Humphrey's official swearing in ceremony will be Sept. 27 at the Kentucky International Convention Center. More than a dozen members of LMPD's command staff will also be promoted during the public ceremony.
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