Q&A with Craig Greenberg: Louisville mayor reviews first year, his hopes for 2024

A lot has happened since Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg took office in January.

Since becoming mayor, the U.S. Department of Justice released its scathing report on the city and Louisville Metro Police, a mass shooting rocked Louisville and Greenberg received pointed criticism amid appointing a new police chief.

He has opened parks, cut ribbons, released an ambitious affordable housing plan, reallocated American Rescue Plan money following a Metro Council ethics scandal and even received his own ethics complaint, which he is attempting to dismiss.

As he enters his second year in office, he has retained hope and energy, he said.

Looking forward, Greenberg hopes to accomplish several goals by this time next year:

• A detailed plan "to make universal pre-K a reality for all 3- and 4-year-old kids in Louisville," including a timeline and budget

• One-time investments from the state for infrastructure in Louisville

• Investments in "libraries ... the local medical education district, in our Community Care Campus, in downtown Louisville and beyond."

• Have thousands of new units of affordable housing under construction

• Reduce the number of shootings in Louisville

• Have projects around the city that will positively impact the economy

Here's what else Greenberg had to say during his year-end review.

All questions are included in the video, but not all are written below. Answers have been lightly edited for brevity.

How was your first year in office?

Greenberg: "It's been a very exciting and fast-paced year and I'm really proud of the accomplishments that our team and I have worked on over the past year, and I'm even more excited about the future. I really think that we reset the tone of the city. There's optimism across the entire city, there's excitement about what is coming.

"We have planted some amazing seeds that are going to start sprouting impactful projects in the coming months and years ahead, whether it's new parks that are going to continue to open and be improved, new libraries that are under construction, more affordable housing, more things happening downtown to make it a safe, clean, green, vibrant, authentic neighborhood where more people want to live and come experience ... It has been a really rewarding year."

What would you do differently?

Greenberg: "I would say the thing that I'm most frustrated by looking back on the past year relates to gun violence. I've been working with the Chief of Police, with our entire administration, with community centers, with group violence intervention, with members of the clergy, with neighborhood leaders, with victim's families, to do everything we can to reduce the amount of gun violence that is plaguing our city.

"But our hands are tied based on the laws that are in place right now in our state, in our country. We would like to do more (and) have more local autonomy ... to reduce the amount of people who have illegal guns, who are using guns for the wrong reason (and) who are using guns to harm or kill people. We can do more.

"I'm hopeful as we look towards the future, the upcoming session of the General Assembly, the future of Congress, that laws will be passed that give cities like Louisville the ability to do more to make our city safer. ... And that's been an area of frustration. ... We've gone as far as we could. And while I would like to do more, I also think it's important to follow the laws that exist even if you vehemently oppose them. We've done what we can, but we'll continue to fight to do more ... to reduce gun violence in our city."

The Courier Journal posted videos of LMPD officers targeting civilians and throwing drinks on them from unmarked vehicles. Have you seen those videos? What was your reaction? Do you believe the officers who knew about it and didn't report should have remained on the force?

Greenberg: "Those incidents were totally unacceptable. Those incidents happened before the chief was even with LMPD, much less being chief and before I was mayor — but very unacceptable incidents. We have new leadership in place, we have a new chief. ... That unit no longer exists. Many of the officers involved are no longer with LMPD. Several have been convicted and are in prison. And the chief herself has taken disciplinary action against most of the others that are involved. Those types of incidents are not acceptable.

"That is not the culture of LMPD today. That is not one that she or I or anyone in our city should tolerate any longer. We are taking a whole new approach. The chief has implemented some meaningful improvements and training, some changes in the way that supervision occurs. So that if things like that happen again, supervisors are held to a higher standard to hold people accountable, or they will be held accountable. We are moving forward to try to build a police department that is the most trusted, that is the best trained and the most transparent. We are taking action even before the DOJ gives us a first draft and consent decree because we know there is a lot of work to do. I'm proud of the improvements that we've made this year and we'll continue to focus on making those improvements to regain the trust of the entire community."

More: How a group of LMPD officers went from 'elite unit' to dousing pedestrians with drinks

What would you tell people who are concerned knowing that some of the officers who knew about the incidents are still working in LMPD? Is there anything that you'd want to tell them if they're worried about interacting with someone who was aware and didn't speak up?

Greenberg: "Well the officers that are still with LMPD have received discipline from the chief. And this action is not tolerated. So if things like this happen again, the discipline and repercussions will be very different next time."

Chief Jacqueline Gwinn-Villaroel called some of the contents of the DOJ report "allegations." Do you view any of the contents of the DOJ report as allegations? Are there any parts of it that you would contest?

Greenberg: "I accept the findings of the entire DOJ report and I made that clear the first time that we stood here with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, as did the chief, and we're focused on making the needed improvements and reforms. ...

"It is time that we move forward, that we acknowledge unacceptable events and unacceptable culture that happened in the past and focus on serving our entire community."

Going forward, Greenberg said he wants LMPD's focus to be on:

• Gaining the trust of people in every part of the city

• Treating everyone fairly

• Focusing on community policing

• Hiring more officers

• Trying to prevent crime, but responding to crime when it does happen

• Solving crimes and "hold a few number of people accountable that are causing the most violent crimes in our city."

"That is our focus," Greenberg said. "But I accept the findings of the DOJ report. And the chief and I have both made that clear."

You mentioned the Old National Bank shooting and other acts of violence being challenging to deal with. How do you take care of yourself?

Greenberg: "It certainly has been challenging. Responding to the Old National Bank shooting has been the most challenging thing I had to deal with all year. Not only was it early in my term, but ... I also quickly learned that I lost a very close friend of mine in that mass shooting. The way the city rallied together to support one another in response to that was heartwarming. And I think it's reflective of the desire of this community, whether it's a mass shooting like Old National Bank, or a targeted shooting and motivated by some grudge that one person has for another.

"This community is tired of gun violence, we have had enough. And the support out there to make meaningful change to reduce the amount of gun violence is clear everywhere across the whole city. This is not a partisan issue. And so that's why I'm hopeful that folks in Frankfort, folks in Washington D.C. hear that loud and clear and finally start taking steps to reduce the amount of gun violence. ...

"Running is one way that keeps me keeps me focused, that keeps me energetic... I have meditated every night since the shooting that I experienced almost two years ago. One piece of advice that I got from a therapist who I saw shortly following that shooting was to try meditation. ... I find that also helps keep me mentally healthy, regardless of what challenges I dealt with that day or what I think might be coming the following day."

Reach reporter Eleanor McCrary at EMcCrary@courier-journal.com or at @ellie_mccrary on X, formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg: Gun violence frustrating in 1st year