LMPD :: Louisville Metro Police Department
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White in running for Chicago police chief

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Mayor Jerry Abramson said this morning that a team looking for a new police superintendent in Chicago has contacted Louisville Police Chief Robert White about the job.

Abramson said White is being considered but it is unclear how many other people are being looked at for the position.

We'll have to see how it evolves,? Abramson said.

White said he couldn't comment.

"I am not in a position to talk about it," he said.

The mayor said White was approached by the search team. Sometime in the past couple weeks, White told the mayor that he would consider the job, Abramson said.

?Every now and again a dream job comes along in your career, and Chicago could be that dream job,? Abramson said.

But it would be a loss to Louisville and one Abramson said he hopes will not occur.

?I have made it very clear that this community supports the chief,? the mayor said.

White came to Louisville in January 2003 as the first chief of the merged county and city police departments.

During his nearly five years on the department, Abramson said White has done an outstanding job of building trust between residents and the police.

?My hope was always that he would end his career in law enforcement here in Louisville,? Abramson said.

In May, the Chicago Police Board began a search for a new superintendent and presented three candidates to Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Daley asked the board to re-open the search, which was done in September.

No finalists have been named by the board.

Chicago has the second-largest police department in the country with nearly 14,000 sworn officers. Louisville's department has about 1,200 sworn officers.