Louisville tabs former Atlanta police chief to lead its police force

(The Center Square) – The former police chief in Atlanta, who resigned in June after an officer shot and killed a Black man, was announced as the new top cop in Louisville, Ky., another community where officers killed an unarmed Black woman 10 months ago.

Mayor Greg Fischer announced Erika Shields would be sworn into office Jan. 19. She will assume leadership of the Louisville Metro Police Department from acting Chief Yvette Gentry.

The mayor said the 28 candidates were considered for the position, including 11 who either currently serve or have experience as a police chief. Nearly half of the candidates were Black and around 15% were female.

Fischer also noted that Shields voluntarily stepped down after an officer killed Rayshard Brooks on June 12. The incident took place just weeks after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis officer and as protests were mounting against the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville.

He added that she put her city’s interests before hers after that incident happened and did not want to be a distraction as Atlanta leaders began discussing law enforcement reforms.

“When she came before us as an applicant to be our chief saying this was the only chief position she was interested in,” he said, adding she was “full of passion and with the skills and experience to achieve the improvements and reform that we need… She was the unanimous choice of our diverse selection committee.”

Shields is a 25-year law enforcement veteran with the Atlanta department. She said her tenure in a majority-Black city helped her understand the ties between institutional racism and law enforcement.

She said her three-and-a-half years as chief in Atlanta, which she called the home of the country’s civil rights movement, will help her lead in Louisville.

“I understand that there is much healing to do across the country and here in Louisville,” she said. “But what I also see is an incredible opportunity. Louisville, and LMPD have the opportunity to get this right, and to create a model for other cities to follow.”

The Taylor shooting, where an unarmed young woman was killed as police officers tried to execute a narcotics warrant, triggered months of daily protests in Louisville. Ultimately, one former officer was charged in the case but not for shooting the medical worker.

Two other officers, one who applied for the warrant and another the officers whose shots hit Taylor, have also been fired.

Some of the protestors, though, were not pleased with the city’s pick.

“She left her job when stuff got hot,” tweeted Hannah Drake, a Louisville artist. “That’s her track record for me. When things got difficult you ran. But magically you have all the answers for Louisville.”

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