LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The president of River City FOP said "perception is reality" in the wake of LMPD Chief Steve Conrad's comments Tuesday night to Metro Council over the controversial traffic stop of a black teenager.
But Nicolai Jilek said traffic stops are one of the ways to address Louisville's issue of violent crime.
"It's hard to argue with someone's perception of something," he said. "All I can talk about are plain facts. You have a high-crime area in the western part of Louisville."
Conrad was on the hot seat Tuesday night over the traffic stop, in which 18-year-old Tae-Ahn Lea was hand-cuffed while officers frisked him and searched his car for weapons and drugs. Nothing was found.
"But I haven't did anything," Lea told officers.
He was talking to his mom, who is a private investigator, on the phone.
"'Mama, they're taking me out the vehicle,'" Lea said. "'They telling me to get out the car now.'"
Lea left a convenience store after buying a slushie and chips and said undercover officers were watching him. He then said he was pulled over for making a wide turn on Dixie Highway.
"Turn around and put your hands on the car for me. Spread your feet," an officer is heard saying on body camera video.
The whole ordeal left Metro Council members wanting answers from Conrad.
LMPD Chief Steve Conrad answered Metro Council's questions about traffic stop policies during a Tuesday night meeting. (WDRB Photo)
"State law prohibits me from making any comment specific to that investigation," Conrad told council members.
"Why?' Councilman James Peden replied. "It's a closed case. It was dismissed. The kid is sitting there right now and would probably like to hear a story."
"We have a Professional Standards Investigation into the matter," Conrad added. "State law prohibits me from making any comments into an ongoing investigation."
Jilek said as the public second guesses police actions, this case has been hard on the officers.
Nikolai Jilek
"We're told to be proactive, then after the fact, we're scrutinized based on public perception of things that we've done," Jilek said. "I haven't seen anything where any officers have violated any federal or state law or (standard operating procedures).
"Something may have happened early on in the evening that may have led police to look at that car. Again, it's a high-crime area."
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