Brothers and Sisters,
I would like to take this opportunity to clarify the lodge's position on several key issues currently before us.The Lodge fully supports Officer Mattingly. He is innocent until proven otherwise under our system of jurisprudence. Brother Mattingly has been supplied council by the lodge and will continue to be provided with legal representation under the FOP insurance plan. We are dissapointed by the denial for a change of venue by Judge Judith Burkman. We do not believe that Officer Mattingly can get a fair trial in Louisville because of all the pre-trial, prejudicial publicity. There has never been a stronger case for a change of venue.The lodge is currently investigating recent comments made by Chief White stating that Officer Mattingly had "Other alternatives", "He didnt need to shoot" and that "His actions were inappropriate". We believe these statements to be in violation of the Police Officers Bill of Rights and the department's own Pre-Trial Comments Policy.We are strongly concerned over the recent and unprecedented amount of resignations and early retirements. The department currently has an excess of 70 vacancies causing severe manpower shortages and compromising our officers safety. Officer safety is of paramount importance and we strongly encourage all officers to wait for back-up units to arrive before entering violent situations whenever possible.
The Louisville Metro Police Department only had 300 applicants for Police Officer positions in the most recent hiring process. This number represents only 10% of the total amount of applicants a decade ago. We strongly encourage the department and the city to work with the FOP and officers to remedy this recruiting crisis.In the past month the department has had 4 officers, with less than 5 years of service, resign to pursue careers outside law enforcement. This is historically uncharacteristic. We are working to find out why this is happening.Louisville has seen an escalation in violent crime and murder over the past year that is above the national average for similiar sized cities. This combined with the large amount of vacancies on our department should serve as a warning to officers to remain vigilante about safety. I have heard numerous concerns from officer's about the fear of departmental reprisal and media scrutiny in the face of use of force decisions. I know these concerns can weigh heavy on any decisions you make. I want all officer's to understand that your safety and the safety of our community is paramount. Do not allow your judgement to protect your life and the lives of others be clouded by the perception of reprisal.We want our community to be assured that officers will continue to diligently perform their duties to the best of their abilities. We hope the current administration will work with the FOP and it's officer's to address the current issues of manpower shortage and low morale. Keep your heads high and stay safe.