LMPD hopes to receive 500 applicants to address officer shortage

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Louisville Metro Police Department is 200 officers short and taking applications for new recruits.

Police said finding those potential recruits, however, has been a challenge due to the department's public perception after protests over the death of Breonna Taylor, debates over officers' salaries and benefits and competition from nearby departments.

"Obviously, we've had issues of retention of employees and retention of police, said Maj. Paul Humphrey, LMPD's training and recruitment director. "We want to make sure that we put enough officers out on the street in order to do the job properly."

LMPD currently has 45 recruits in its academy, according to Humphrey. Typically, the major said, the department would have double the recruits.

"It's a difficult job. We don't hide that it's a difficult job," Humphrey said.

LMPD announced in December that it would be taking applications for new recruits until Feb. 5. According to the department's website, recruits earn a salary of $39,998 while in the academy and have their pay bumped up to $45,489 upon graduation.

"The people that are walking through the doors today are going to be the guiding source of what policing in America looks like over the next 20-25 years, and that's a pretty amazing thing to think about," Humphrey said.

Applicants must be over 21 years old and have a valid driver's license. They also cannot have used or sold marijuana within the past year, among other requirements. Humphrey said police hope to receive about 500 applications.

"The level of service that we can provide is contingent on the number and quality of applicants that we get through the door," he said.

If selected, recruits will go through six months and more than 1,000 hours of training.

"We make sure that we hold a high standard," Humphrey said, "Regardless of what may be going on in the world, we still want to make sure that quality people are put out on the street in order to serve the public."

The new recruits will be the first under incoming Chief Erika Shields, whom Mayor Greg Fischer introduced Wednesday. Shields, who comes to Louisville after stepping down as chief of Atlanta police in the wake of the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, will take office Jan. 19.

Humphrey said Shields has been introduced to LMPD's command staff.

"She obviously is going to have to come in and learn a lot of detail about our department and how we operate specifically," Humphrey said. "That's going to take time, and she's going to be able to put her stamp on the agency and guide it the way she sees fit."

To submit an application to LMPD, click here.