LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel was named Louisville's permanent police chief Thursday by Mayor Craig Greenberg, removing the interim tag she held since the start of the year.

Gwinn-Villaroel joined the Louisville Metro Police Department in 2021 as deputy chief after working for the Atlanta Police Department for more than 20 years. She took the place of former Chief Erika Shields, who resigned when Greenberg was sworn in as mayor in January. 

Speaking at Metro Hall, Gwinn-Villaroel said that under her leadership she wants the department to "move aggressively into what we call community policing." 

"I remain focused on my top priorities: addressing violent crime, rebuilding community trust and establishing clear guidelines on how we police," she said, adding that recruiting and retaining officers are "always a front of mine."  

Greenberg said he relied on an advisory panel and community input in hiring the new chief, but stressed that he alone made the decision. His administration has declined to release the finalists for the job, a move he said ensured a quality pool of candidates. 

In all, 20 people applied for the Louisville job; four were interviewed, Greenberg said.  

"This is a big job. This is a challenging job," the mayor said. "And over the last few months, it's become very clear that the best person to do this work is already on the job."

Gwinn-Villaroel thanked Greenberg for "taking a leap of faith" in bringing her to Louisville and supporting her during her interim status and also pledged to continue to bridge gaps between police and the community and support the officers in her department.

"Allow us to serve you," she said. "We understand that we have to continue to work on those relationships. We are invested in getting it right. Louisville, you deserve to have protection, and LMPD is committed to making sure that happens."

Gwinn-Villaroel has already had her leadership tested this year, with a mass shooting at a bank downtown and the release of a scathing Department of Justice report that rebuked LMPD's actions over the last several years. 

Federal investigators believe LMPD and Metro Government engaged in practices that violated the Constitution and federal law. 

Gwinn-Villaroel and other local officials will work with the Justice Department to negotiate terms of a court-monitored consent decree to be filed in federal court.

She has not shied away from the DOJ report's findings and need to make changes. Meanwhile, Greenberg said none of the candidates were scared away from the department because of the consent decree. 

Gwinn-Villaroel has said her main goals are to lower violent crime in the city, build a better relationship with the department and community and continue implementing reforms started in the wake of the Breonna Taylor shooting,

The mayor was joined by his deputy mayors and members of the LMPD chief search advisory committee for the announcement. The panel included clergy, local and state politicians, the head of the River Chief Fraternal Order of Police and the president of the Louisville Metro Police Foundation. 

Greenberg said during the selection process that he hoped the different perspectives and expertise would help select a chief that will build the most trusted, trained and transparent police department in the nation.

Greenberg also held a series of public meetings to hear what the public wanted in a new chief. The city also commissioned a nine-question survey that was answered by more than 1,200 citizens. 

The mayor has faced criticism in recent weeks by the local branch of the NAACP, which raised concerns over what it called a lack of transparency in his search for the city's next police chief.

Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville Chapter of the NAACP, said he has met with the mayor and is now focused on the best interest of the community. 

"She has been named chief, and I think that we all have an obligation to try to support her because in the long run, we want a better city a better community," Cunningham said.

Gwinn-Villaroel is also tasked with mending a fractured community and deep distrust in the police department in the wake of the 2020 police killing of Taylor.

"My goal is to dismantle the walls of distrust that has taken over this city," she said earlier this year. "There has been some problems as we all know that have taken place in the city. ... We have to rebuild those relationships."

Taylor's death sparked months of protests in downtown Louisville that summer. The DOJ report cites three specific incidents where police violated First Amendment rights during the protests.

During the protest, then-Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer fired police chief Steve Conrad  after learning that police officers did not record body-camera footage of the fatal shooting of David McAtee, a black man, in west Louisville.

The DOJ report listed 60 examples of alleged misconduct by Louisville police.

When the report was released, Attorney General Merrick Garland said federal and local officials agreed in principle to enter a court-enforceable consent decree as the department makes agreed-upon changes to policing practices.  

The oversight agreement sets tangible requirements for change, metrics to measure the improvement and timelines to achieve them. 

This story will be updated. 

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