By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
Facebook messages sent to a Louisville Metro Police Department recruit by former assistant Prospect police chief Todd Shaw in 2016 have been released to the public, bringing to light new details behind the officer’s firing.
In August 2017, Jefferson County Attorney Mike O’Connell sent a letter to Prospect mayor John Evans including Shaw’s social media communications which he described as, “highly racist and threatening.”
Shaw had been discussing a training scenario with the LMPD recruit in which he was instructed to write a paper about the “right thing to do” when encountering three juveniles smoking marijuana.
“F— the right thing. If black, then shoot them,” wrote Shaw, also describing how to handle the parents of underage cannabis consumers; “if mom is hot, then f— her, if dad is hot then handcuff him and make him suck my d—. Unless daddy is black. Then shoot him.”
“ML King was nothing but a raciast (sic) womanizer,” he also wrote, “but because someone shot him, I get a day off with pay each year.”
Former Asst Police Chief Todd Shaw
The officer made efforts to keep the messages sealed, but a judge ruled last week that they be made public after WDRB and WAVE made a request under the state’s Open Records Act.
The comments were initially uncovered while Shaw was being investigated for interfering with an investigation involving sexual abuse by two officers working in the Metro Police Explorer Program for teens interested in a law enforcement career.
The department suspended Shaw during the probe then later fired him after discovering the messages.
But Shaw’s attorney, Michael Burns argued that he is “not a racist in any sense of the word,” and that his client was, “just playing.”
“Mr. Shaw held a distinguished career in law enforcement for nearly 30 years,” said Burns, “throughout his career, he treated all people fairly and respectfully regardless of their race.”
City Hall – Prospect, KY
In an email, Burns wrote, “His Facebook messages were made privately between colleagues and friends who shared the reality of being police officers in today’s culture where police are demonized and demoralized for doing what it required to keep the community safe.”
But Mayor Evans disagreed with Burns’ reasoning; “while it is important to note that all the communications either sent or received by Shaw were sent privately, the city finds the content of the messages to be abhorrent, disgusting, and reprehensible.”
In a statement, LMPD Chief Steve Conrad expressed his shock at Shaw’s comments; “Any person who holds these thoughts has no business ever donning a uniform and representing those who have sworn to serve every member of every community. These actions spit in the face of the determined effort of hundreds of thousands of law enforcement officers put forth to build trust and legitimacy in the communities they serve.”
And though the recruit resigned February 2017 before he completed his training, Conrad also stated that he would never have been hired had the messages been discovered prior to his selection.
In light of the newly released information, county attorneys announced they would begin moving to dismiss two-dozen cases in which Shaw was the sole witness, regardless of the race of the defendant.
