Mayor offers diverse list of 11 nominees for the city’s new Civilian Review and Accountability Board

Mayor Greg Fischer today presented Metro Council with a diverse list of 11 nominees for the city’s new Civilian Review and Accountability Board.

The nominees will be reviewed first by the Metro Council’s Government Oversight and Audit Committee before a vote by the full Council.

The new Civilian Review and Accountability Board will guide the work of the city’s new Inspector General (IG), adding a new layer of independent review to Louisville Metro Police Department disciplinary matters. The IG will have the authority to investigate alleged incidents of improper conduct by any members of the LMPD with any member of the public. Duties of the IG’s Office also include examining patterns and practices within LMPD; reviewing policies, procedures and operations; and providing recommendations on improving operations to the Mayor’s Office and Metro Council.

Potential disciplinary actions will remain the purview of the Chief of Police, but the work of the new Board and the IG’s Office can help inform that process.

Noting that community involvement in the process is key, Mayor Fischer committed from the start that four of the 11 board positions would be selected from nominees offered by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky, Greater Louisville Inc., the Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition, the Louisville branch of the NAACP, the Urban League, the Louisville Bar Association, Young Professionals Association of Louisville and the University of Louisville's public health chair. Each group was invited to submit the names of two potential nominees.

The four nominees selected from that list by Mayor Fischer and his team are: Stachelle Bussey, Denise Sears, Rev. Barbara Haigle and Marianne Michael.

They join three nominees chosen from a list recommended by Council: Jennifer Greene, Scott Dickens and Charles Keyes; as well as four chosen by Mayor Fischer, including two who self-nominated. They are Guillermo Sollano,Turney Berry, Antonio Taylor and Kellie Watson.

The Mayor’s list of nominees is diverse: six women, five men; five nominees are Black, four are white, one is Arab American and one is Latinx. Their median age is 49.

“I want to again thank members of the work group who helped us establish the new board last year, as well as those who have stepped up now to serve on the new board,” said Mayor Fischer. “This board is a big part of our continuing efforts to reimagine public safety and improve the trust and legitimacy between LMPD and the larger community they serve.”