Louisville settles police sexual-harassment case for $50,000

"for goodness sake.... we r closing in on a decade.......u r comparing apples and oranges... of course thing were easier on a 400 officer dept compared to a 1200 officer dept.... I agree we should not have given up some things in the contract but the opportunities r greater now....a whole lot easier knowing 300 patrol officers on the county.....way less violent crime and we wrote lots of tickets and Dui's.... I am former county and don't miss it much...."

The original response was made, because there are almost no remaining county officers in positions to have any influence on the leadership, which means only the memory of how things were done on the city remains. I will admit not all thing county were perfect, but they were far less burdensome than on the city

* The city had about atleast 6 binders full of policy, the county had one. Written so there was no confusion, and no doubt as to what policy was. It also didn't change much, so you weren't forced to read minor changes two hours a month.

* The city was always in reactionary mode; possibly because of the higher crime in the "west end", but definitely because of the politics of a command staff that was always sweating the 'board of aldermen' which had 12 members, the county had 4 plus a judge, a much easier system. Now we have. The council and what a mess that is.

* The city promotional system remained, the counties was retired. This means that individuals who 'knew' the city system were promoted at a disproportionate rate. Don't get me twisted, there are county officers who learned the 'system' and have moved up, but the numbers don't lie. And I am one of those guys who could have cared less about leaving patrol.

* The merger was an opportunity that has now been generally lost. We could have taken the best practices from both departments and become one of the best in the state, if not the nation. Now, the 'new' 7000 series officers will have to relearn the best practices after we are all gone – sorry dudes, I hate to leave you with that mess.

* The county police had several funds, all of which were audited. This city, I don't know, but I have always questioned the chief of police having a discretionary fund. And I surmise that from 2003 to 2008 that the fund was battered and abused. I know for a fact it was used at his whim and sole discretion.

* I knew of multiple officers on the county who were fired or prosecuted for their offenses. I also remember the sudden and quick resignation or retirements from officers and commanding officers when they came under suspicion. Now we have individuals who were fired (and later regained their job) or should have been fired, but were protected reaching ranks they never would have under either of the previous departments. The fox is guarding the hen house.

You say, "u r comparing apples and oranges... of course thing were easier on a 400 officer dept compared to a 1200 officer dept" and to this I say, yes I am. Good practices and standards should be universal regardless of the size of an agency.

You say, ".... I agree we should not have given up some things in the contract but the opportunities r greater now" – really name one? The ability to go to a specialized unit, is that the only opportunity you speak of, because as a patrolman I literally went to dozens of schools on the counties dime across the country and was expected to come back and use that knowledge. And I was expected to share that knowledge with my platoon. Now, try to get an out of town training approved. Go ahead and try.

As for the contract now, we have very limited protections, because the uneducated (you) were willing to barter away all those protections for nothing. I am sure you are proud of yourself for that.

You say, "....a whole lot easier knowing 300 patrol officers on the county"… Actually each patrol division had about 80 sworn, which means the "specialty" units were always secondary to patrol. Have you ever thought why the suburban districts are so dramatically understaffed?

You say, " .....way less violent crime and we wrote lots of tickets and Dui's"… well I guess you weren't around from 94 to 96 when the county actually led the city per capita on homicides and robberies and responded accordingly with efforts on the slant and in baker and Charlie districts.

You say," I am former county and dont miss it much...."… I am betting you were one of the last 3 class hired on the county, so you really didn't get the chance to learn what to miss…

I am retiring with 26 years in and have been proud of my time with the old JCCD, the County and with LMPD. I will gladly tell you that I have served with some of the best men and women this state had to offer, however I can also tell you that I have served with and under some complete numb skulls since this merger who have only been worried about positioning themselves to become a major. As a citizen who YOU will be forced to protect, please get this shiste straightened out.

By the way, if you speak like you type, then no wonder you aren't worried about the future of the department. Please go buy yourself a dictionary, thesaurus and general English guide, so you can better serve our community by preparing concise and educated reports on the crime that needs to be investigated in my city and county.

Apples to Oranges huh? How about them apples