LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville's police chief is standing behind his department's handling of a missing persons case that ended with a woman being found dead a week after she was reported missing.
The family of Latasha "Tasha" White and some members of Louisville Metro Council are questioning the Louisville Metro Police Department’s handling of her disappearance, raising concerns about how missing persons cases are prioritized.
LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey addressed some of those criticisms during the department's bi-weekly news conference Wednesday morning. While he provided some answers, there were some details he said he couldn't share.
White, 49, was last seen April 27 in the city's Park Hill neighborhood. When she hadn't shown up for work, her employer contacted police on April 30. Her family filed a missing persons report the next day and by that Friday, an LMPD detective reached out.
In a statement at the time, LMPD said an officer went to White's home April 30 to conduct a welfare check at the request of her employer because she hadn't shown up for work. No one answered at the home, and LMPD said there were no signs of a struggle or foul play.
On May 2, a detective contacted White's family, following up on the missing persons report they filed May 1. LMPD said her family "did not provide any information that indicated she was in imminent danger, which would have elevated the alert status," and that the information it received "did not meet the criteria for a public alert."
The department said White "removed her own cameras from her home while she was home alone in the early morning hours of April 29.
But her family — and local leaders — have said more should have been done from the start.
"Who determines who gets a missing person report? Who determines who gets on a poster or not?” Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins, D-District 1, asked during a May news conference. “What is the process and protocol for a case like Ms. White's? And why wasn’t the evidence significant enough? How much more evidence do you need to investigate?"
Reports of White's disappearance had been circulating on social media when WDRB asked LMPD on May 5 if they had taken a missing persons report for her. A spokesperson for the department responded, "As of this writing, I do not have a Missing Persons report or any information from our records regarding what has been shared on social media about Ms. White."
White was found dead two days later. On May 7, her body was discovered on the side of Newport Road. She had been shot.
Last week, U.S. Marshals arrested 45-year-old Jamie Shelby in connection with White’s death. He is charged with murder (domestic violence), robbery, and possession of a handgun by a convicted felon. He is being held on a $1 million bond.
LMPD has faced scrutiny over its handling of the case and questions were raised about the timeline between White's disappearance and her death. But the department has defended its investigation.
"Based on the information provided, LMPD had no legal authority to conduct any further searches of her home, her phone, or any other personal property," LMPD's said in a May 9 statement.
White's family said when they took their concerns to LMPD to file a missing persons report, they wouldn't listen.
"We knew something was wrong because we knew her personality," Arthur Jackson, White's father, said at the time.
At a news conference Wednesday, Humphrey addressed criticism of the department’s response himself.
"I can't go into too many details. However, this is a very complicated case," Humphrey said. "There are a lot of moving parts to this case, and I want to make sure that we can get far enough along in the prosecution before we give out some of those more specific details."
However, one comment from Humphrey drew swift backlash from local civil rights leaders.
"There was a lot of criticism thrown at LMPD at the onset, but I will tell you that Tasha White’s behavior ultimately put her in the position she ended up in,” he said.
Louisville Urban League President Lyndon Pryor called the remark “cold, unfeeling, disconnected and frankly a small thing for a person in this position to say.”
WDRB News will continue to follow this case as it moves through the court system.
Anyone with information in White's case, or any other case, is asked to call LMPD's anonymous Crime Tip Line at (502) 574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department's Crime Tip Portal by clicking here.
Previous Coverage:
Judge sets $1 million bond for Louisville man charged with Tasha White's murder
Man charged with murder of Louisville woman found dead after disappearance
Arrest made in murder of missing Louisville woman found 'obviously deceased' near Buechel
LMPD defends handling of Tasha White case as Metro councilwoman questions timeline
Family members say missing 49-year-old Louisville woman found shot to death
Woman found 'obviously deceased' from gunshot wound near Buechel, Louisville police say
Louisville police investigating disappearance of 49-year-old woman last seen April 27
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