From L.P.M. Louisville Public Media.

Support for LPM Podcast comes from the I Care Institute and Butchertown Clinical Trials,

where they strive for diversity, equity, and inclusion within their staff, patients, and clinical trial

participants. To learn more, visit butchertown.clinic.

It's February 2021 and I'm hustling across town, late for a community forum. You probably get this by now, but Louisville loves a community forum.

This one was a chance for the clergy to meet the city's new police chief.

By early 2021, a lot had changed in Louisville. Police Chief

Steve Conrad had been fired. The nightly protests had died down after months.

No one had been charged for killing Brianna Taylor, but one officer was facing charges of wanted endangerment for firing bullets into Taylor's neighbor's apartment, and two more officers had been fired.

The city settled a lawsuit with Taylor's family for 12 million dollars, the

largest settlement in city history, and agreed to a slew of reforms. Metro Council approved

a new short-term union contract that raised officer salaries.

Now, finally, a new officer at L&PD will make what they would have made in 2004, taking inflation into account.

They hired a new chief who Mayor Greg Fisher called taking inflation into account.

They hired a new chief who Mayor Greg Fisher called a reform-minded leader

committed to the ideals of 21st century policing.

But despite all this, the anger, the frustration, the disconnect between the police and the community was still there.

In fact, it seemed like the chasm between the two was wider than ever, which I saw firsthand when I got to this community forum.

This is the thing.

Y'all know what's wrong in the community.

Y'all know why they're killing each other in the community.

There's no jobs in the community unless you're flipping burgers.

...