LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer sat down for a live interview with WDRB's Gilbert Corsey on Thursday. A transcript of the interview:
Q: Let's start with Brett (Hankison). The officer believed to have fired 20 shots in the Breonna Taylor raid. Now new allegations of sexual abuse. One woman saying that she was raped when he was working off duty in St. Matthews, that he allegedly would offer women rides home and then sexually assault or sexually abuse them. You, new today, have called for an outside investigation. The group being the public corruption civil rights task force. That's a combination of the FBI, LMPD, Kentucky State Police and the attorney general's office. Can you clarify? Will this outside group be doing its own separate investigation? Or will they be reviewing LMPD’S Public Integrity investigation?
A: It's not just any outside group, right? This is the FBI. This is on public corruption. This is investigating whether a police officer used his position to abuse the public. So this is a very serious matter where I wanted to expand it beyond just the Public Integrity Unit. I also have called on the FOP to ask (Hankison) to step down from his role on the police merit board. The police merit board has seven members. I appoint five. The FOP offers two. And I've directed LMPD not to refer any more cases to that board as well.
Q: Again .... my question is will the task force be doing its own investigation? Or will it review the LMPD investigation?
A: Well, when the FBI is involved with cases like this, they make sure the facts are the facts. So they just don't do a cursory review. The specifics, I'm not sure, but I guarantee you that there will be full oversight with clear facts coming out of this task force.
Q: The task force will interview these women. They will interview witnesses. This outside group will do its own. That's your expectation?
A: In public corruption cases, absolutely.
Q: In terms of (Hankison), he's one of three involved in Taylor's shooting, you are increasingly under scrutiny to fire the officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death. But you've said there's laws and policies with the union that have stopped you from being able to do that to stop you from taking that action. The question is what would happen if you did?
A: They more than likely would be reinstated back into their jobs with back pay. They'd have opportunity to sue the city for damages. And principally and importantly Gilbert, this could interfere with the criminal charges that could come against any one of them as well. So, you know, as mayor my job is to enforce the laws of the city. Our laws are dictated by Kentucky statute, KRS 67. And that’s merit based police system, police officers Bill of Rights. The way this system is moving is way too slow for the expectations of folks for swifter justice as well. So I've been focused on is, you know, what is it that I can control, you know, suspending no knock warrants, and I hope the council tonight passes the ban of no knock warrants, which I will happily sign off on. Use of body cameras, even if you're undercover in a search warrant, you've got to do that as well. Top to bottom review of LMPD. New police officer search so there's many things I can do. I want to focus on those things that I can do versus what I can't do.
Q: You talked about no knock warrants, the council's going to take that up shortly tonight. Right now, it's the limitation of no knock warrants. But there's also a strong voice from council members saying they wanted them eliminated altogether. If that does not get through, and no knock warrants are not eliminated altogether. Will you keep your suspension in place?
A: Absolutely. I mean, I've already suspended the use of no knock warrants. Around the country, it appears like half of the states allow no knock warrants. So they're not uncommon. But another half of the states do not. So I would have to ban them here in our city.
Q: And would they be in place for the rest of your administration?
A: Yes.
Q: When we said you're coming back, we opened it up to social media because our viewers are many of the people that elected you to office. The most consistent question that we got from people on social media, mayor, and you may have heard it, was calls for your resignation. Now that comes after we saw a group of officers the video came to light when you went to go speak to them who walked away from you. What do you say to the people who are critical of your leadership in this hour,
A: A couple of things. I was elected and took the oath for this job. Whether it was good times or bad times, easy times or tough times. America is going through a really tough time right now. A hundred and fifty, 200 cities. We’re one of them. And so we've got to do the work. We got to focus on what it is that I can do, which I have been doing with all these examples I just gave you. We're going to do more of them as well. So … this challenge for America that stems from systemic racism and police community relationships is ... bigger than any one person. But I can guarantee you that I will give every ounce of fiber in my body to make sure I can do what I can do for police community reform, dismantling systemic racism, trying to eliminate poverty in our country. But everybody says, ‘Okay, let's do what our part is and move forward.’ And I guarantee you I'm gonna do mine.
Q: We're down to our last minute here and I want to spend it talking about body camera footage. New court filings this week seemed to conflict with the initial reports that we got out of LMPD about body cams in the Criminal Interdiction unit. We were told that unit didn't have body cameras, but according to new court filings this week, there were officers that were part of that team that had their body cameras on in different raids on that very same night. So the question is, did we get inaccurate information at first or does this team have body cameras and were they not just on when the raid happened at Breonna Taylor's home?
A: I mean, I've read the same report as you do. What is my clear understanding is that the three officers involved with the execution of the search warrant did not have body cameras on. If I find out otherwise, I will be severely disappointed and take action accordingly.
Q: Is it that they did not have them on because we were told they were not issued? That's what came out at first that the Criminal Interdiction unit did not have body cameras issued to them. Did these officers in fact have them issued and they were not on?
A: What I know is that LMPD has been a leader in terms of body cameras across the country. My understanding is undercover narcotics agents do not use body cameras. And they didn't have them during the execution of this search raid. Now, I've changed all that since then. But that's what I understand as of that evening.
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