LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- After a national search for the next person to lead Louisville police, Mayor Craig Greenberg ended up promoting from within the department.

He officially removed the interim tag from Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, naming her the new permanent chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department.

Gwinn-Villaroel joined LMPD 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. 

"We feel she has done a pretty good job," said Ryan Nichols, president of the Fraternal Order of Police.

Nichols was one of the seven members on Greenberg's advisory committee in the search for the city's next police chief. He said through the Old National Bank shooting in April — which left five people dead and eight others injured — and other crises she has dealt with, Gwinn-Villaroel showed the leadership they need.

"And we feel that she was extremely supportive and handled that the way we would want any chief to do that," Nichols said.

Now the leader of a department trying to move forward as it remains 300 officers short.

"Some key issues will be to address our severe officer shortage. To allow us to adequately address public safety, we need the manpower to address all the violent crime issues that we have," Nichols said.

Aside from an officer shortage, Gwinn-Villaroel also faces the challenge of rebuilding public trust. A broken relationship with the community was documented in a scathing report released by the U.S. Department of Justice. In the report, the DOJ revealed a pattern of misconduct in Louisville policing, including discrimination, illegal searches and officers breaking the law.

"She knows what she's facing," said Rep. Keturah Herron, D-Louisville. "And to be here for six months and to deal with the criticism, see how hard the community is on her, and continue to say I'm gonna fight this with you all. I'm ready to build community with you all, I mean, I think that says a lot about her character."

Herron's district in the state house includes part of west Louisville. She joined Greenberg's advisory committee, vetting police chief candidates, to make sure her thousands of west Louisville neighbors had a say.

"We have to understand and know that our community has been hurting, has been hurt by the police department," she said. 

During the interview process, she started with the same questions.

"Are you going to be able to hold your police officers accountable? What do you think of the DOJ report? What was the most horrendous thing that you found in the DOJ report?" Herron asked.

She and Nichols had different questions of Gwinn-Villaroel, but both agreed that Greenberg made the right choice.

"She knows she's in the chief role now, and she can put the programs forward and that they'll be very effective," said Nichols.

A goal of rebuilding morale within the department and bridges among the people they serve.

"If we don't have that, none of the other things are gonna matter," said Herron.

While Herron and Nichols agree with the mayor's decision in naming Gwinn-Villaroel, some were skeptical of the way the search was conducted.

On the campaign trail and through his time in office so far, Greenberg touted that LMPD would be the most trusted and transparent department. That's why some, including the local chapter of the NAACP, were critical over what they called a lack of transparency in the search for the city's next police chief.

In all, 20 people applied for the Louisville job; four were interviewed, Greenberg said, but none of those candidates were ever revealed.

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.

Kungu Njuguna, Policy Strategist for the ACLU of Kentucky, was another member on the advisory committee. WDRB News spoke with the communications manager of ACLU, Angela Cooper, who said they were grateful at being involved in the process, but were disappointed at the lack of transparency.

"The ACLU of Kentucky would like to have seen a more transparent process in the selection of a new police chief for LMPD," Cooper said. "Obviously, LMPD has been plagued with problems and it seems that it would be more beneficial to let the community look into what the process is and who the candidates were, and how the selection was made."

Gwinn-Villaroel is Louisville's fifth police chief in a little more than three years. Former Chief Steve Conrad was fired in June 2020 after the first weekend of demonstrations related to the police killing of Breonna Taylor. Robert Schroder was then named interim chief, but he retired in October of that year and now serves as the police chief at the Lyndon Police Department. That brought in Col. Yvette Gentry, who came out of retirement to lead LMPD until January 2021, when Erika Shields took over. Shields said she was forced out by Greenberg, and resigned at the start of his time. Gwinn-Villaroel was named interim chief after Greenberg's inauguration. 

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