Louisville Chief Retires Amidst Backlash For Breonna Taylor Shooting
RELATED: Louisville Police Required To Wear Body Cameras Amid The Fatal Shooting Of Breonna Taylor
Louisville Chief Steve Conrad has revealed that he is retiring with his last day scheduled for June 30. He notified Mayor Greg Fischer of the news.
“In his decades as a public servant, Chief Conrad has shown a deep commitment to justice, innovation and fairness,” Fisher said in a press release. “As our Police Chief for the past eight years, he has worked tirelessly on improving transparency and community policing. Most importantly, he has been a kind, decent, fierce advocate and protector of the city he loves, and a respected colleague. I appreciate that he is staying through the end of our fiscal year to help us ensure a smooth transition, as we continue to grapple with budget challenges and the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Conrad had been facing a lot of criticism for the manner that his department had handled the fatal March shooting of Breonna Taylor, a black EMT and emergency room tech, who was fatally shot in her home near during a botched narcotics raid. Nothing was found in her apartment, and she and her boyfriend had nothing illegal associated with them.
Conrad sent a statement to his staff followimg the announcement,
“There have been a lot of ups and downs in this job – there always are in police work. But nothing was harder for us than the loss of three of our sworn officers with LMPD – Peter Grignon, Nick Rodman, and Deirdre Mengedoht. Those are the hardest moments for a chief and we weathered them together as a family. Those three officers were the best of us and we should all approach this job every day to make them proud.”
“You all are weathering a lot right now and I know how challenging this is. Approach this as we approach all our struggles – as a team. Look out for each other. Show compassion to the other community, even when it might not be shown to you. And remember what a privilege this job is.”
The FBI has also opened an investigation into Taylor’s death.
Source: WDRB