LMPD chief Paul Humphrey sat down to discuss reform within the department with LPM’s Bill Burton.
This transcript was edited for clarity and brevity.
Bill Burton: Now that the federal consent decree is gone, how do you move forward?
Paul Humphrey: Well, we continue on the path that we've always been on. And I think we've said for several years that improving the police department is a constant goal. There is no finish line of this. And so we're going to move forward with everything that we've said we were going to do anyway. You know, I would hope that the community recognizes that not only is this voluntary, but what it does is it gives us the ability to be more responsive and actually move more quickly than having to deal with some of the bureaucratic process that was built into the consent decree.
BB: When you spoke at the press conference about the decree, you stated that if you didn't get the job of reform done, you'd be held accountable by the mayor and lose your job. How do you hold those under you and the police department accountable?
PH: Well, people want to do a good job, and I think most people, including myself, you know, I can attest that when I've achieved the most, it's been because people held me to a high standard, not because they told me I was horrible. And so I think you start off by holding people to a high standard. When you tell people that they can achieve great things, they tend to live up to it. And so to me, that's the start, is creating a culture where people have a high expectation of each other within the organization, and so they ultimately are self accountable. But the other side of it is that there is an accountability process and a disciplinary process, and I don't think I've done the best job all the time of making sure that people understand that that process takes place every single day. And so we do hold people accountable, and we hold ourselves accountable, and so I think we may be able to do a better job of explaining how that process works to people.
BB: You've talked about how your officers need to be properly equipped, need a place like the wellness center that was recently created for them; but with the need for reform with the department, do you feel your management style needs to be adjusted in any way?
PH: Well, I'm always evaluating my personal management style and evaluating the command staff and how we approach certain things. We have conversations on a daily basis about, are we making the right decisions, are we taking the right approach to things, and how can we do this better? So I am always in the process of changing my management style, but one of the things that I think has to be a tenet of that constantly is making sure that we recognize that our job is to take care of people. And as leadership, huge part of that role is taking care of the people that go out there and do the work of taking care of the community and addressing mental health, addressing physical health, addressing officer and employee wellness, is part and parcel of that.
BB: An important part of any reform is Louisville's Office of Inspector General. How would you characterize your relationship with the Office of Inspector General, and do you want to see its leader, Ed Harness, continue past his term when it ends in November?
PH: I think it's a very important role that the Office of Inspector General has, as well as the civilian review and Accountability Board, for them to be able to review and report to the public on what they think the Metro Police is doing I think is very, very important and to give us feedback on our policies, our practices and the quality of our investigations. I think that that is a much needed aspect of oversight and transparency.
BB: In recent years, LMPD has had hiring issues, but recently, you've seen an uptick in recruitment. What's led to the change?
PH: I think there's a myriad factors that have led to that uptick. And, you know, I think one of the biggest issues, and it's not unique to the police department, is just workforce dynamics have changed. And I think as a society, we need to figure out where we're going when it comes to our workforce, because Metro Police is not the only organization that's having problems hiring quality folks, but specific to us, I think when you've seen some of the dynamics around the conversations around policing in America change which makes it a more attractive profession to come into.
