LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A panel that'll police the police in Louisville is starting to take shape after Metro Council submits its selections.
Back in November, Metro Council promised the community a new layer of independent oversight on the Louisville Metro Police Department when it voted to create a Civilian Review and Accountability Board. Guided by an inspector general, the board will be comprised of 11 ordinary citizens that will review cases of alleged police misconduct.
Right now, city leaders are in the process of picking the inspector general and the 11 members of the board.
Monday night, Metro Council did its part by approving a list of six names to send to the mayor for his consideration. Councilwoman Paula McCraney, D-7, says the six choices, drawn from 75 applications, represent the community well.
"We have community activists, we have community volunteers, we have a former firefighter, a former police officer, we have some attorneys, so it's a varied background," she said.
Council's nominations submitted to the mayor are Jennifer Green and Mark McCoy, for a term of one year; Scott Dickens and Sherlena Watkins, for a term of two years; and Charles Keyes and Richard Pearson, for a term of three years.
Council will ultimately get three members on the board, and with council's ultimate approval, the mayor will select three of the six names submitted by council for the terms varying in length.
Additionally, two members will be nominated by the mayor — two positions to which any citizen can apply — and four nominated by a variety of community groups like GLI, the Louisville Chapter of the NAACP, the Louisville Urban League and the University of Louisville Department of Public Health.
The legislation was drafted by a diverse group of city leaders and ordinary people over the course of five months, in a renewed effort by Mayor Greg Fischer and Metro Council to examine more areas of police reform after the shooting death of Breonna Taylor and months of ensuing protest.
McCraney says the recent progress likely means the board can be all set up by the end of March.
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