Louisville Metro Police Department has just announced it has selected Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel to become its new chief, making her the first Black woman to take on the role on a permanent basis.
Gwinn-Villaroel had previously served as the department’s interim chief since January and was tapped to take on the role permanently after the department had conducted a nationwide search.
Craig Greenberg, Louisville’s mayor, stated that Gwinn-Villaroel was one of 20 qualified candidates interviewed for the role. The advisory committee that conducted the interviews was comprised of elected officials, nonprofit leaders and community residents.
“Over the past six months, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel has shown our city that she has exactly what I’m looking for in a chief and exactly what our community is looking for in a leader,” Greenberg said in a statement.
Gwinn-Villaroel worked for the Atlanta Police Department for over two decades before clinching the highly-coveted position. During her time as interim chief in Louisville, she launched a nonfatal shooting unit and expanded a “Crisis Call Diversion Program.”
“Louisville has welcomed me with open arms, and I am honored to be the leader of our police department,” Gwinn-Villaroel said in a statement. “My team and I are dedicated to building trust between LMPD and the people of this city through community policing, transparency and accountability.”
In March, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced that there was “reasonable cause to believe” Louisville police was involved in misconduct that violated constitutional and civil rights, following the 2020 death of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor.
The news comes during a current wave of Black women who have been appointed to high-level roles in city and state governments nationwide, including in Washington D.C., where its mayor recently appointed the first Black woman to become the city’s new chief of police.
Earlier this month, C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, D announced Pamela Smith as the city’s new chief.
Smith formerly worked with the U.S. Park Police as its chief and worked alongside the District’s police force, where she was the chief equity officer and assistant chief in charge of homeland security.
Smith replaces Robert J. Contee III, who will join the FBI, according to the Washington Post.
The move marks a “historical day for DC,” Tomás Arturo Talamante, Bowser’s deputy chief of staff wrote on Twitter.
Congratulations, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel and Chief Smith!
