Protesters Assail Mayor’s Decision to Fire Police Chief

Dozens of police officers were among 600 demonstrators who marched on City Hall on Friday to protest the firing of the city’s police chief after he honored two white officers involved in the fatal shooting of an unarmed black suspect.

Louisville Mayor David Armstrong said Thursday he dismissed Police Chief Gene Sherrard, a 23-year veteran of the department, from his $84,700-a-year post for not telling him in advance about plans to honor the officers. Armstrong said the firing was part of a move “to change the culture” of the city’s Police Department.

Nine top police commanders immediately resigned in protest of the firing, and the head of the police union said the dismissal had decimated morale.

At a department ceremony earlier this week, officers Chris Horn and Paul Kinkade were given awards for valor for their actions during the May 1999 shooting of Desmond Rudolph, an 18-year-old suspected car thief.

The officers fired 22 shots, killing Rudolph, saying they thought Rudolph was going to run them down in a stolen car that became stuck in an alley.

The shooting sparked anger in Louisville’s black community and prompted a grand jury investigation, which cleared the officers of criminal wrongdoing. City Public Safety Director Ron Ricucci issued a report last month that exonerated the officers but questioned police tactics and procedures.