Yvette Gentry to Lead Police Department Involved in Breonna Taylor Shooting

LOUISVILLE, KOMPAS.com - Yvette Gentry has been tapped as the new Louisville Police Chief which has faced intense scrutiny over the death of Breonna Taylor in March.

Yvette Gentry will lead Kentucky’s Louisville Metro Police Department as its Interim Chief of the department, according to The Courier-Journal.

Her appointment was announced by Mayor Greg Fischer on Monday.

Gentry is a former Louisville Metro Police deputy chief who retired from the force in 2014. She will be the first woman and the third African American to serve as chief of the Louisville Metro Police.

Read also: Family of Breonna Taylor Meets with Kentucky’s AG Daniel Cameron

Interim Chief Robert Schroeder plans to retire at the end of September after four months in the role.

Schroeder took over on June 1 when Fischer fired longtime Chief Steve Conrad after learning officers did not have body cameras turned on during the fatal police shooting of the owner of a popular West End eatery.

Gentry’s appointment comes at a low point in relations between police and Black residents in Louisville.

Protesters have marched for more than 100 consecutive days since Taylor, a 26-year-old Black emergency medical technician, was shot and killed as officers attempted to serve a no-knock search warrant at her apartment.

Protesters want serious changes to the city’s police and other systems they say have perpetuated systemic racism.

Read also: Senior Citizens Protest to Demand Justice for Breonna Taylor

Taylor’s death is under investigation by the FBI and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who is expected to announce in the coming weeks whether criminal charges will be brought against the officers.

Authorities have said the officers fired back after Taylor's boyfriend started shooting at them.

In an emotional speech after Monday's announcement, Gentry addressed residents of the West End neighborhood who have been at the heart of more than 100 days of protest over racial injustice since Taylor's death.

“I’m not here just to help you unboard your beautiful buildings downtown,” she said.