Louisville’s Inspector General Ed Harness may get another term leading the police oversight agency.
Mayor Craig Greenberg announced Thursday that he is nominating Harness for reappointment. The decision to give Harness another four-year term ultimately lies with the Metro Council, which will have to approve the decision.
The relationship between the Office of Inspector General and the Louisville Metro Police Department has been tense at times during Harness’ first term. In February, the police chief called an OIG investigation into the 2022 police killing of Omari Cryer “crap” and “false information.” And as recently as last week, Greenberg remained noncommittal on whether he’d endorse Harness’ reappointment.
On Thursday, though, Greenberg told reporters he thinks the city is making progress on “re-strengthening relationships between the community and law enforcement” and the OIG has played a role in that.
“I want to continue making the progress,” Greenberg said. “When we’re doing the right things, let’s keep doing them. When we’re not, let’s change course. Here I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
Greenberg also thanked community members for being involved in the process.
A coalition of community groups, including the 490 Project, Dove Delegates and the Louisville Urban League, emailed more than 500 signed petitions to Greenberg Tuesday night urging him to nominate Harness. A handful of Democratic council members also made their support known.
At the press conference, Harness thanked Greenberg for entrusting him with the role, as well as the members of the Civilian Review and Accountability Board, who backed his reappointment. The board works closely with the Inspector General, voting to initiate investigations into resident complaints and deciding on what recommendations to make based on the findings.
Harness also showed appreciation to the community.
“Our shared purpose is a safe and prosperous Louisville,” he said. “Constitutional policing creates a safer Louisville. I pledge every day to work toward a safer Louisville for all.”
Asked about the sometimes-rocky relationship between him and LMPD, Harness said he thinks the city is “in a new era now,” after Greenberg signed a contract with an independent monitoring team this week. That team, Effective Law Enforcement for All, will oversee Louisville’s police reform plan over the coming years.
The plan, called the Community Commitment, includes previous reforms recommended by the U.S. Department of Justice to strengthen civilian oversight of police through the review board and Office of Inspector General.
Harness said he thinks that they’ve built the foundation of their relationship with LMPD and he’d like to spend a second term “putting the walls up, getting windows and putting treatments in.”
“We’ll be refining the work that we do,” he said. “The Civilian Review and Accountability Board has already approved a memorandum of understanding recommendation that has been forwarded to the chief, which we believe will bring our operations in line with the Community Commitment."
Harness said one thing he’d like to do is open more channels of communication with LMPD so they can resolve some issues informally.
In an emailed statement, LMPD said the OIG supports their efforts to be more transparent and build public trust.
"We value collaboration with the OIG and look forward to continuing to work with Ed Harness and his team,” the department said. “Their role helps ensure our work reflects community expectations and the highest standards of integrity.”
Harness backed by activists, community leaders
As Thursday’s press conference ended, District 1 Metro Council Member Tammy Hawkins approached Greenberg to say, “I appreciate you.”
She later told reporters that she doesn’t believe Greenberg “was there” at first on his whether to nominate Harness for a second term.
“I think relying on the community, relying on myself and several of my colleagues, I think that he made that choice,” Hawkins said.
Harness had been publicly pessimistic about his chances in the months leading up to the decision and that helped to mobilize his supporters to put pressure on the Greenberg administration.
In addition to the petitions, prominent Black community leaders showed up for Harness. The Louisville chapter of the NAACP repeatedly urged Greenberg to reappoint him, with President Raymond Burse reportedly telling the mayor that next year’s election will be “a referendum on the job he’s done.”
Bishop Dennis V. Lyons, who holds a weekly breakfast in west Louisville attended by community leaders and city officials, called Thursday’s announcement “a celebration.”
“It marks another step towards the improvement of the relationship between the people and the police department and Metro Government,” he said. “The community did not feel like we had a friend in the police department, so Ed Harness became our big brother at their table.”
District 3 Council Member Shameka Parrish-Wright, whose district includes Shively and parts of the West End, said she’d do everything she can to support Harness’ reappointment when Greenberg’s nomination comes before Metro Council.
She noted that Harness has experience with both police oversight and consent decrees, helping establish Albuquerque's Civilian Police Oversight Agency following a federal investigation.
“So, to remove him from this role would be to remove that trusted, trained policing that we’ve said we’re going to get,” Parrish-Wright said.
She said she doesn’t expect Harness will receive pushback from Metro Council members.
“A lot of the council members seem to go on the side of the mayor, which is why his support on a lot of issues matters,” she said. “A lot of our council members, even beyond their constituents, side with the mayor. So, they should be in full support.”
It’s unclear how soon Metro Council will begin debating Harness’ reappointment. The legislation that would allow the council to vote on his nomination was not introduced before Thursday night’s meeting, meaning it will be at least three weeks before it’ll be taken up.
Harness’ term is set to expire at the end of November.
