The Jefferson County Teachers Association Calls Upon the Louisville Mayor and the Jefferson County Metro Council

As the professional representative organization for almost 6,000 educators in the Jefferson County Public Schools who have dedicated their careers to creating a better future for the young people of our community, the Jefferson County Teachers Association recognizes that the safety and well-being of our students depends on a positive, trusting relationship between the community and our law enforcement agencies.  Recent events make it clear such a relationship does not exist and cannot exist until the community comes together to make much needed changes. 

Therefore, the Jefferson County Teachers Association calls upon the Mayor and the Metro Council to convene a broad-based panel of stakeholders, with significant representation by people of color in our community, to review the policies, practices, and other factors impacting the relationship between law enforcement and the community.  The panel should be empowered to make recommendations to the Mayor, the Metro Council, and other appropriate entities.  Issues to be considered could include the appropriate and inappropriate use of force, the execution of warrants, pursuit policies, community policing, crowd control safety protocols, the establishment of an ongoing Civilian Community Police Accountability Council as called for by the Taylor family, public transparency and accountability of our law enforcement agencies, the tracking and reporting of disaggregated law enforcement equity data, opportunities for ongoing community input on law enforcement practices, the monitoring of law enforcement’s responses to community input, and ongoing police training in such areas as conflict de-escalation strategies, implicit bias, and factors leading to institutional racism.