Earlier today, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced the appointment of Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel as the permanent Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) Chief. LMPD is in desperate need of revolutionary and transformational change. Our hope is that Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn- Villaroel can be a force for that change. Whether or not she will be, remains to be seen and unfortunately, her road to doing has been made more steep because she was chosen through a process shrouded in secrecy.

The Louisville Urban League was disappointed by the lack of transparency in the city’s secretive process of choosing the next police chief. Although the city hired Public Sector Search & Consulting, a firm that bills itself as the only national firm focused “exclusively on recruiting police executives¹” to ensure transparency, Louisville Metro’s process was anything but. The firm suggested naming finalists and holding a “Meet the Candidates” event that would have either centered around “public vetting” or a “candidate interview forum.”² This excellent suggestion would have gone far with Louisville.

This process is a disserve to the public, but also a disservice to the new Chief. A secretive process does not inspire trust among Louisville residents. Absent public participation, community members have no way to know if we have gotten the best candidate. And that question will likely hang over Chief Gwinn-Villaroel for a time until she is able to convince people otherwise. 

To do that, our new Chief will need to display courage, creativity, and a solid commitment to honesty. That means answering questions openly and directly about incidents and police misconduct and taking swift action against bad behavior and poor performance. Chief Gwinn- Villaroel will need to be a strong advocate for the community and stand up to the police union. Currently, the Fraternal Order of Police is refusing to abide by an MOU that officers will cooperate with the Inspector General.³ She must be strong enough to face a recalcitrant union who still will not own their part in the scathing DOJ report.

The Louisville Urban League will continue to show up as an outspoken advocate for Black people and the community. We will partner and support things that are good and fiercely protest and critique when they are not. Our hope is to be able to do much more of the former with the Mayor and the new Chief, but that is a choice they will make in the actions they take moving forward.

¹ Wood, Josh and McCrary, Eleanor.  (2023, July 13).  What we know about the inner workings of Mayor Craig Greenberg’s search for an LMPD chief.  The Courier-Journal.

² Ibid

³ Wood, Josh. (2023, July 13). Inspector general says Louisville police misconduct investigations halted amid union spat.  The Courier-Journal.

About the Louisville Urban League
The Louisville Urban League assists African Americans and those at the margins in attaining social and economic equality and stability through direct services and advocacy. For more information, go to lul.org or follow us on Facebook, Twitter  (@louisvilleUL), or Instagram (@louisville_ul).