A week after the Louisville Metro Police Department erected a downtown Atlanta billboard seeking officers, the department’s recruiters set up shop in a Midtown hotel.
Department officials made the seven-hour drive to Atlanta on Wednesday, hopeful Chief Erika Shields’ local connections might help Louisville police fill some of its nearly 300 officer vacancies.
Thursday’s recruiting efforts at the Hyatt Centric Midtown Atlanta got off to a slow start, but Louisville police Sgt. Justin Bickett was hopeful that Louisville would receive more applicants before recruiters head home on Sunday.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Shields, who previously served as Atlanta’s police chief, is featured on the billboard alongside her second-in-command, Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel, who followed her former boss to Kentucky last year.
Shields stepped down as chief in June 2020, one day after the deadly police shooting of Rayshard Brooks outside a south Atlanta Wendy’s. She had steadily worked her way up the department ladder, serving as a patrol officer, sergeant, lieutenant and major prior to her appointment to deputy chief. She became Atlanta’s police chief in 2016.
Law enforcement agencies across the nation are struggling to fill vacancies, especially after the higher-than-average turnover that followed the racial justice protests of 2020.
“After the protests and civil unrest and everything that went along with it, it’s been hard,” said Bickett, who is in town looking for new officers.
Louisville dealt with its share of protests and officer resignations following the fatal 2020 shootings of 26-year-old Breonna Taylor and 53-year-old business owner David McAtee, both of whom were Black.
The Atlanta Police Department is still nearly 450 officers short of its budgeted 2,042 sworn positions, even with 121 recruits in the academy or preparing to go into the academy, according to the latest figures from the department. Over the weekend, APD held its own recruiting event at Lenox Square.
Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens’ office said the city is on track to meet his goal of hiring 250 more officers, but some agencies — including Louisville — are looking to entice talent with higher pay and the promise of a take-home car.
Depending on years of experience, an officer making a lateral move to Louisville could earn up to $75,552. The department is also offering an $8,000 hiring bonus and another $3,000 for relocating.
By contrast, a starting police officer in Atlanta makes $48,500 and a lateral transfer with at least two years of service can earn up to $59,000, according to the department’s website. The top salary for an officer is just under $72,000.
Credit: robert.andres@ajc.com
Credit: robert.andres@ajc.com
One officer, Bickett said, traveled to Atlanta from Mississippi to meet with recruiters. The five-day event includes a written test, a physical agility test and a polygraph exam.
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
He said the decision to place Atlanta’s former chief on a billboard just south of City Hall has garnered some attention, which he hopes will translate to police applicants.
“We knew that Chief Shields was a comforting face, someone they were used to,” he said. “It’s been effective. We received a lot of recognition for being here and that was the intent.”
Louisville police Maj. Emily McKinley said the department will recruit in other regions across the U.S., but wanted to begin in Georgia given Shields’ history here.
“Obviously Chief Shields is from Atlanta. She is very proud of that police department and she knows those officers are well-trained,” McKinley said.
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