LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The next Louisville Metro Police chief will face a bevy of challenges including ongoing violence, a U.S. Department of Justice investigation and former LMPD officers set for prison time.

On Monday, LMPD chief Erika Shields announced she will resign at the end of Mayor Greg Fischer's term. Louisville Mayor-elect Craig Greenberg said an interim police chief will be named before he takes office, and his administration will begin the search for a permanent chief immediately.

Metro Council President David James (D-6) believes the hire can make or break Greenberg's administration. 

Shields took on the position in January 2021 for a department facing a federal investigation, an officer shortage and community distrust that was elevated after the killing of Breonna Taylor.

"The number of people wanting that job at the time was very few, and she's done a great job and I wish her the best," James said.

Mark Fox, a former LMPD officer, is the chair of Metro Council's public safety committee. The committee has worked closely with Shields in her tenure.

"She plugged a lot of holes that were leaking badly," Fox said. "She set some accountability measures that were not there, and I think she led the police department really well."

After years of rising homicide rates, 2022 has seen a decline, although there has been 141 murders this year. More than 500 people have been killed in Louisville since the start of 2020.

In his public safety plan, Greenberg said he planned to fully staff LMPD and "focus on recruiting and retaining a more diverse corps of officers to better reflect the communities they serve and build trust and cooperation between the police and the neighborhoods they serve."

Fox credits Shields and the Group Violence Intervention program. He hopes the new LMPD chief can keep GVI in place.

Fox also wants police to respond to more non-violent service calls.

"That's where dialogue begins, that's where it's the woman or the man who responded to the call as a human being, not a tactical situation," Fox said.

Shameka Parrish-Wright, a community activist who ran for mayor, says transparency is what she wants out of the next police chief.

"If a person is willing to be open, ready and honest, they can start to help us heal," Parrish-Wright said. 

Parrish-Wright said Shields didn't work enough to rebuild relationships in the community.

"We lost faith and trust in LMPD years before she came," Parrish-Wright said. "But she didn't help improve that."

Parrish-Wright wants to see a leader who understands the people they are protecting, and to treat everyone fairly, regardless of the neighborhood.

"The next chief needs to understand what homelessness means, needs to know what over-policing means, what poverty means," Parrish-Wright said. "Needs to know what continuous training means for the officers so they can protect the people in the best way."

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