Phillip M. Bailey

@phillipmbailey

Citing Louisville’s rising violent crime rate and the department's Youth Explorer program sex abuse scandal, Metro Councilwoman Angela Leet is calling for police Chief Steve Conrad to resign.

"Unfortunately, I believe the time has come for a change in leadership,” Leet said. "I will no longer sit by and say it’s the mayor’s call and hope that action will follow. Instead I will step out and say that I no longer have the confidence that Chief Conrad has the ability to right the ship and help direct this city and its many neighborhoods to be the safe places we all desire."

But Mayor Greg Fischer stood by his top cop in a statement on Thursday, saying that Leet "laying all of crime and societal problems at the feet of one man is an unrealistic" solution to a complex crime problem.

"It's also an insult to the hard working men and women of (the police department) that the chief leads," Fischer added. "We will continue to work with urgency to make our city safer and once again request the entire community to join ... us in our cause."

An LMPD spokesperson said Thursday that Conrad has no comment.

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Leet, R-7th District, said in an interview with the Courier-Journal that she is reaching out to other members to gain bipartisan support urging Fischer to act. She said a tipping point was at a public safety hearing this week where some members clashed with Conrad over police resources.

Conrad was peppered with questions Wednesday about a resolution that calls for the administration to put $9 million more in the budget to hire 100 new officers. The chief infuriated some council members when he refused to say how many officers the department needs, and that he wouldn't comment on his recommendations ahead of Fischer unveiling his spending plan next week.

"We asked the blunt question of what you think we should be at. He's our expert," Councilman Brent Ackerson, D-26th, who sponsored the measure, said in an interview Wednesday. "I don't feel like he's my expert anymore, because he won't tell me what he thinks is reasonable."

Leet said Conrad demonstrated during the committee meeting that "he is loyal to the mayor, and to the mission of the mayor and the community seems secondary." Other members had differing views on what Conrad's future should be.

Councilman Bill Hollander, leader of the 17-member Democratic caucus, said Thursday that Conrad serves as the pleasure of the mayor, who appoints all department and agency directors.

"I personally don’t believe that a new chief can end our opioid epidemic, bring people out of poverty or solve the other societal problems which are contributing to crime," said Hollander, D-9th. "But I know the mayor and not any member of Metro Council makes this decision."

But Councilwoman Julie Denton, R-19th, said members have the right to speak out about the way Conrad is leading the police force. She said she supports Leet's call for the chief to step down given how he's addressed gang violence and other issues.

"I don't know why Chief Conrad would want to stay — he's lost the confidence of the force, he's lost the confidence of the community including members of Metro Council," Denton said.

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Councilwoman Jessica Green, D-1st, said she was reserving judgment on supporting Leet's call for the chief to resign until she could review the statement further but her concerns about rising crime continue to rise and that Conrad avoiding their questions about more manpower was a "slap in the face" to all members.

Councilman David James, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he considers Conrad a personal friend but that his performance as chief has caused him great concern as of late. He said he plans to call the chief to testify soon about whether department’s reorganization plan – which in September 2016 eliminated the so-called flex platoons to shift more resources to high crime areas – has worked to decrease the violence.

“If we see that hasn’t taken place, it’s probably time for the council to consider as a body if we have confidence in Chief Conrad leading the police department,” said James, D-6th.

The chief's role in the ongoing Explorer scandal has come under fire as a number of investigations have been launched.

Conrad dropped a 2013 internal affairs investigation into former Officer Kenneth Betts for having "improper contact" with a teenage girl in the program after he resigned the next year. Betts is one of two former police officers accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy in the program in their police vehicles and homes, and that they recorded it to create pornography.

Betts and former Officer Brandon Wood, whom Conrad fired last week, have been indicted on charges involving three victims. Betts is accused of sodomy and sexual abuse while Wood is charged with seven counts of sexual abuse. They pleaded not guilty Monday.

Fischer has temporarily suspended the Explorer program and asked the FBI to investigate whether the civil rights of any Scouts were violated. He also has hired former U.S. Attorney Kerry Harvey to investigate whether there was a cover-up within the department, as Metro Council President David Yates, who is representing four former Explorers, has alleged.

And last year Louisville recorded its highest number of murders ever and continues to deal with a surge in shootings and homicides.

Sgt. Dave Mutchler, president of the police union, said in a brief interview with the Courier-Journal on Thursday that Leet had informed him about her call, but that he had not seen her statement.

In December, fewer than 2 percent of police union members said they had confidence in Conrad's leadership.

Reporter Phillip M. Bailey can be reached at 502-582-4475 or pbailey@courier-journal.com

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