LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville Metro Police detective was officially fired Wednesday, weeks after police said he threatened to kill other law enforcement officers.
Last month, LMPD Chief Erika Shields sent Detective Christopher Palombi a pre-termination letter indicating that he "made statements that you were going to bring guns to the Homicide Unit and kill people," including members of the command staff.
According to Palombi's attorney, Thomas Clay, Palombi met with Shields on Monday to answer questions and share his side of the story. On Wednesday, Shields informed Palombi of his official termination.
Palombi's wife, Kristen, and Clay said the Army veteran has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. In fact, he recently spent 30 days in treatment on the west coast and is in treatment here.
Kristen Palombi said during Monday's meeting with Shields, her husband shared details about his treatment and mental health.
"He did a web interview with Chief Shields," Kristen Palombi said. "And he apologized for his actions that day but made it very known that it was a mental health issue and that he went to treatment for it."
Kristen Palombi was in the room during the meeting and said there seemed to be a lack of compassion from the chief.
"I was sitting behind them in tears, because that's my husband and I'm having to listen to it again and re-live this again," she said. "And she just had no reaction and no compassion from what I saw."
Kristen Palombi said her husband has spent nearly half of his life serving his community and his country.
"He was very passionate about it," she said. "Before we met, he was a firefighter in New Jersey, where he's from. We met in the Army, and he was always a great soldier. We were both squad leaders. He has always been a serve and protect person. He always wanted to do more for others than for himself, which is why he’s always going into public service jobs. When he was getting out of the Army, and we knew that we were moving to Louisville, it was either being a firefighter or being a police officer. And he wanted to be a police officer. And he has been so passionate about it. He put his job about his family for the past couple of years of being in homicide. And it's like they took everything they could for him until they broke him. And now, they have nothing for him since he can't benefit them."
Clay said Christopher Palombi is doing well as a result of treatment.
"We really didn't know what was going to happen. I was hoping the chief would show some compassion here and allow him to seek the treatment that he needs in order to maintain his profession of being a police officer," Clay said. "I believe that he suffers from severe PTSD as a result of being deployed as a combat medic in Afghanistan back in 2014. He saw some horrible things over there."
Clay believes the recent protests and unrest on the streets of Louisville triggered that PTSD.
"He was shot at four times in the course of performing his duty to try to protect the public," Clay said. "So he's experienced extreme mental stress, and it's caused a reaction to him which has been treated."
Clay said they'll appeal the decision to the police merit board. They have 10 days to do so, and the official termination was issued March 2.
"Your conduct has severely damaged the image of our Department within the community," Shields wrote. "The result of your actions seriously impedes the Department's goal of providing the citizens of our city with the most professional law enforcement agency possible. I cannot tolerate this type of conduct by any member of the Louisville Police Department. Your conduct demands your termination, and it is in the best interests of the Louisville Metro Police Department and our community that your employment be terminated."
The threats were made in January, according to Shields' termination letter. Homicide detectives and sergeants were told to stay away from the office, "which impacted the morale, operations, and efficiency of the Homicide Unit," Shields wrote.
Jefferson County Sheriff's Department Maj. Mike Littlefield said his office was made aware of an officer who was a "person of interest" and deputies were watching out for Christopher Palombi. He has prior military experience and "probably access to weapons and could possibly be dressed in a police uniform," Maj. George Grissom of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department wrote in an email to court personnel. Grissom heads the office's courts division.
Christopher Palombi's termination comes after the department recommended firing him for a violation of obedience to rules and regulations and conduct unbecoming. He allegedly made the threats after requesting to be reassigned to the Office of Sexual and Physical Investigations and in response to being told he would be transferred out of the homicide unit, according to the pre-termination letter.
"The threats constitute a violation of terroristic threatening in the third degree," Shields wrote.
To date, Christopher Palombi has not been charged. Among his other work, he was the lead detective in the murder investigation of 35-year-old Jeremy Lind, who was tortured and died after his tongue was removed in 2020.
Related Stories:
Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.
