LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Metro Council on Thursday voted to ratify a controversial new union contract that secures raises in pay for more than a thousand Louisville Metro Police officers.
Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer and the River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614 reached the new collective bargaining agreement on Oct. 2, but the agreement also needed council's approval.
After a lengthy debate Thursday, council voted 16 to 10 to ratify the deal, which extends the current contract to June 2021 and includes pay increases and other changes in benefits.
The contract also includes a provision from the city’s $12 million settlement with the family of Breonna Taylor: a $5,000 housing incentive for police officers who live in areas they patrol.
A wooden sign with the logo of River City FOP Lodge 614, which represents almost all Louisville Metro Police officers. (WDRB file photo)
But some Metro Council members have argued that the short-term contract doesn’t have enough areas of police reform and pledged not to approve it unless changes are made. Council members like Keisha Dorsey, D-3, argued the contract should be renegotiated to benefit all sides.
"This is not against officers, we are fighting for (them)," Dorsey, a frequent protester and critic of the contract, argued Thursday. "We need to change the system now, not just for this community, but for the men and women who will be joining the ranks in Louisville."
Ahead of the meeting, dozens of protesters gathered outside City Hall and shouted, "Vote 'No' to the FOP."
Others, however, have argued that the contract's passage was critical, as LMPD struggles to recruit and retain officers.
Ryan Nichols, the president of LMPD's union, said the department has lost 155 officers so far this year: While 63 were to retirement, 92 resigned, presumably many for work at other departments.
A sign at River City FOP Lodge 614, which represents almost all Louisville Metro Police officers. (WDRB file photo)
"Our manpower situation within LMPD is very dire," Nichols told WDRB News during an October interview.
Officer Robinson DesRoches, one of the two LMPD officers shot Sept. 23 during unrest after a decision in the Taylor case, made a personal appeal to council to approve the contract. DesRoches and the other officer who was shot, Maj. Aubrey Gregory, received proclamations at the beginning of the meeting.
DesRoches told council the pay raise included in the new contract will be beneficial to LMPD.
"I'm not telling you all what to do, but just look within to see if you can help be the change as well to this community," DesRoches told council.
In a statement after the vote, Mayor Greg Fischer said the "short-term" contract is just the beginning.
"Now, we will focus a long-term contract that includes the reforms necessary to address the challenge of police legitimacy and trust," he wrote. "That includes work already under way to diversify LMPD to better represent the larger community it serves and to foster a culture that promotes transparency and accountability – including changes to policies on search warrants and seizures, and random drug testing."
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