On Tuesday June 25, 2024, Chief Gwinn-Villaroel resigned following an ongoing sexual harassment and abuse scandal among the Louisville Metro Police Department.

[2] LMPD divides Jefferson County into eight patrol divisions and operates a number of special investigative and support units.

Following the Civil War, the Kentucky General Assembly passed an act to reorganize the department.

A Civil Service Board was established, consisting of three members of each political party with the mayor serving as a tiebreaker.

In 1982, the Louisville Board of Aldermen passed an ordinance allowing the mayor to remove the chief of police for specific reasons.

On March 2, 2002 Louisville Mayor David L. Armstrong fired Police Chief Gene Sherrard due to a banquet honoring officers for exceptional valor.

The view of the policemen involved was that the car was operable and, believing they may be struck by the vehicle, constituted a danger to their lives, while the opposing view is that the policemen did not follow proper police procedure by failing to secure the rear exit and that the car was inoperable and did not pose any danger to the officers.

In 2003 Robert C. White was appointed by Jerry Abramson as the first African-American chief of police in Louisville, KY.

The investigation will include a comprehensive review of LMPD policies, training, and supervision, as well as LMPD's systems of accountability, including misconduct complaint intake, investigation, review, disposition, and discipline..."[8][9] The Jefferson County Police Department was established in February 1868.

Following a letter from Chief Ambrose Hagerman noting that there were no river deaths in 1932 due to the introduction of rowboats, the county approved the purchase of a motorboat.

In 1981, JCPD received authorization from the Kentucky Law Enforcement Council to conduct annual in-service training.

JCPD and LPD ceased to exist as separate entities on January 6, 2003, when the Louisville Metro Police Department became effective as part of the city-county merger.

The investigation will examine patterns of abuse, including excessive force, unconstitutional stops, searches and seizures, and whether officers discriminate on the basis of race.

The Investigation found that the "police often cite people for minor offenses, while cases like sexual assault and homicide go unsolved."

On October 10, 2004, Jefferson County was divided into eight patrol divisions, each headed by an officer holding the rank of major.

Even after the city-county merger became effective in 2003, Louisville Metro Police did not become the sole law enforcement agency in the county.

LMPD patrol units do not typically respond to calls for service inside these departments' jurisdictions, and vice versa.

The alphabet is as follows: Adam, Baker, Charlie, David, Edward, Frank, George, Henry, Ida, John, King, Lincoln, Mary, Nora, Ocean, Paul, Queen, Robert, Sam, Tom, Union, Victor, William, X-ray, Young, Zebra.

LMPD has officially ceased using 10-codes as of October 2007, following a SOP update; however, the use of 10-codes by both officers and dispatchers remains common practice.

[46] On March 28, 2022, the Louisville Metro Police Department switched their primary dispatch channels to encrypted transmissions.

LMPD provided the following statement:[citation needed] The Louisville Metro Police Department is committed to a continued partnership with local law enforcement agencies, while at the same time never forgetting our top priority is protecting the community and the officers charged with that responsibility.

On Monday March 28, 2022 at 1000 hours, the LMPD will begin transitioning to an Advanced Encrypted Standard (AES) radio system.

This also means communications between officers and dispatchers will no longer be streamed live to the public through police scanners and websites.

This switch is being made for many reasons including: As of June 28, 2024, all LMPD dispatch channels are being provided with a 15-minute delay through third party sites and apps like Broadcastify.