Councilwoman Jessica Green plans to talk to Police Chief Steve Conrad about policing tactics.

Green is alarmed by a description of aggressive tactics in an email by a First Division major.

Maj. Eric Johnson credits the tactics with sharply reducing violence.

The issue arose after the traffic stop of a prominent black pastor in the Russell neighborhood.

Councilwoman Jessica Green said Tuesday night that "aggressive policing tactics" won't be tolerated in Louisville in response to a police commander's description of strategies he credits for a decline in violent crime.

Green, who is also an attorney, said on Facebook that she plans to discuss comments made by First Division Maj. Eric Johnson about "certain neighborhoods in our community" with Louisville Metro Police, including Chief Steve Conrad.

Johnson, who oversees downtown and its adjacent neighborhoods of Phoenix Hill, Portland and Russell, wrote in an email obtained by the Courier Journal on Tuesday that he instructed his officers to aggressively patrol neighborhoods and "take as much enforcement action as possible," while at the same time treating people with dignity and respect.

Read this:LMPD major: 'Absolutely nothing' to racial profiling claim in Rev. Cosby stop

"As a public servant and member of the bar, I am concerned about comments expressed by an LMPD commander regarding aggressive policing tactics," she said.

Johnson's email to Councilman Bill Hollander focused on the Sept. 15 traffic stop of the Rev. Kevin Cosby, which he called an example of the "exact action" he instructed his officers to take.

"I will tell you that while I occasionally get complaints, the vast majority of people that I interact with in the Russell area want a more aggressive police response," Johnson wrote. "They want to see officers stopping cars and confronting the drug dealers on the street corners."

Green's description of practices like "stop and frisk" refers to a New York Police Department policy that called for officers to stop and detain pedestrians they had reasonable suspicion to believe were involved in a crime.

Critics contend the practice is inherently racially biased. The vast majority of those stopped in New York City under the policy were black or Latino, according to news reports.

Background:Was Kevin Cosby pulled over for driving an Audi in the West End?

Related:Rev. Kevin Cosby's traffic stop sparks demand for full-bore policy review

In Louisville, the traffic stop of Cosby and his wife has renewed a debate about race and law enforcement. The stop is under investigation by Louisville police at the request of Chief Steve Conrad, and police have declined to release body and dash camera footage of the incident.

Cosby, who is president of Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black university, and senior pastor at St. Stephen Church, the state's largest African-American congregation, has not spoken publicly about the stop and declined to comment Tuesday.

But Cosby's daughter, Christine Cosby-Gaither, who posted the initial video to Facebook, has called the officer's actions "inappropriate." She said the stop shows there is a "serious relationship problem" between the black community and the police department. Others have said the incident calls for a top-to-bottom review of Louisville Metro Police policy.

Conrad, the police chief, asked for an internal investigation into the stop by the department's Professional Standards Unit, which examines whether officers followed procedures.

Conrad said previously that accusations of racial profiling are taken "very seriously" by his department, and that this incident would be used as an opportunity to review how officers are trained in handling traffic stops.

Cosby's stop took place in the Russell neighborhood, at the corner of 22nd Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. Cosby was stopped by a white officer while he was driving his Audi. He was let go with a verbal warning after an officer, who has not been identified, questioned him and his wife.

In the video of the incident posted to Facebook, the prominent Louisville pastor and his wife were told by a Louisville Metro Police officer that Cosby had broken two traffic laws.

“You made an improper turn back there when you turned on to 22nd, I’m not exactly sure what street it was off of, but you made an improper turn there," the officer says in the video. "Also, the plastic rim around the license plate — it’s illegal. That’s the reason for the traffic stop.”

Opinion:After Kevin Cosby traffic stop, we need to tackle racism in Louisville

Kentucky State Statute 186.170 allows a frame as long as it does not cover the identifying information for a car's registration.

The officer then told Cosby that his insurance and driver's license checked out and let him go with a verbal warning.

Johnson said in his email to Hollander that Cosby was stopped for legitimate traffic violations, treated with respect and dignity and released with only a warning.

"While being stopped by the police may not be a pleasant experience and may cause some people anxiety, it doesn't mean the police were wrong," he wrote.

Darcy Costello: 502-582-4834; dcostello@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @dctello. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/darcyc.