Erika Shields' tenure as chief of the Louisville Metro Police Department began at a rocky time for department, in the wake of the killing of Breonna Taylor, city-wide protests and the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will end in January, Mayor-elect Craig Greenberg announced last month, as a new city administration searches for a new director for the department.

More police officers will soon be on the streets of Lyndon after a merger with a local police department allowed the city to create its own.

The Graymoor-Devondale Police Department is now known at the Lyndon Police Department. The announcement was made Tuesday with Lyndon Mayor Brent Hagan and Chief Grady Throneberry.

"We feel we can tailor services to meet the needs of our community and its residents," Hagan said. "We can provide a visible presence in our community."

The Louisville Metro Police Department has again changed its policy on when officers can chase a fleeing vehicle, reversing course and rejoining departments among the more strict in the country in allowing pursuits.

The new policy, which took effect April 26 according to an internal memo written by Chief Erika Shields, is a rollback to a policy enacted in December 2012 to reduce deaths and injuries caused by the chases.

As part of the 2012 change, LMPD officers could only pursue suspects involved with a violent felony. Otherwise, the chase had to be called off.

A Louisville Metro Police officer who was captured on video punching a man several times in the face while he was protesting at Jefferson Square Park last April has been cleared of wrongdoing in an internal investigation by the department.

Officer Aaron Ambers was investigated for possible violations of department policies involving de-escalation and use of physical force in the April 18, 2021, arrest of Denorver Garrett.

Former Louisville police detective Brett Hankison, the only officer charged in the controversial raid that killed Breonna Taylor, was found not guilty on three counts of wanton endangerment by a Jefferson County jury Thursday.

The jury of eight men and four women deliberated for about three hours after hearing five days of testimony. A judge told Hankison he was free to leave.