Craig Greenberg on Scottie Scheffler, more officer involved shootings, and who Louisville is

Craig Greenberg, the Mayor of the city of Louisville, discussed various angles of the Scottie Scheffler incident including the videos released today, quick action by his office, and the future of the case. He also talked about his office's focus on transparency including LMPD, more body cam videos of officer involved shootings coming tomorrow, the city's new contract with LMPD, and who Louisville is...

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
You're a news radio eight forty whs. Terry miners here. The mayor of
the City of Louisville, Craig greenBerg, is in the studio with me.
Anything going on today's Harry, Anynews happening in hard neck of the
woods. Gosh, it's a quietday and the sleepy burg of Louisville.
Just another day at the office,right, Well, you got a lot

(00:21):
on your plate, Mayor, asalways, and it's been an interesting time
for you. Obviously, the eyesof the world are on Louisville again today
and after this incredible PGA tournament,because it was those videos came out today
and people that I'm communicating with electronically, you know, emailing whatever, they

(00:42):
don't see anything. So, youknow, we see we see the Shelbyville
Roll Street poll and so we seethe car pull in and then we see
the police officer bang the window hardand then out comes Scottie Scheffler and he
gets arrested. The dash can doesn'tshow up much more. So, what
else can you say about that?Because this seems so insufficient for this mole

(01:07):
hill that's turned into a mountain.You know, thanks for asking, Terry,
And as I said, earlier today. You know, we have to
respect the legal process and let thatplay out. And I'm very hopeful that
there's an arraignment coming up on Junethird. I'm very hopeful that all parties
can move forward when that happens.Mister Scheffler has made that clear that that's
what he wants to do. Lmpd'sgot to move forward. We've got to

(01:29):
reduce the amount of violent crime growingon in our community. I know everybody
wants to talk about that, butI'm going to be just careful. There's
not much for me to say.It's it's in the County Attorney's hands right
now. But what I can tellyou what we released today is the video
that we have from across Shelbyville Roadof mister Scheffler Scottie Scheffer's arrest. I

(01:49):
am unaware of any video that existsof the initial contact between l mp and
LMPD officer and mister Scheffler. Therewere buses, as you can see in
that footage, there were buses onthe south side of Shelbyville Road. Because
we can't forget this was the sceneof a tragic death, a tragic accident

(02:10):
that it happened under an hour beforethis took place, and so traffic was
stopped in both ways so that LMPDofficers could investigate what happened in the death
of mister Mills, and that's whenthis happened. So my understanding is that
the initial contact between the LMPD officerand mister Scheffler you cannot see in that

(02:32):
video because the buses were in theway, and then you see the car,
you know, pulling into the Valhallaentry. So just to give some
context for what people are seeing,that's what they're seeing. Have you met
with this police officer. I havenot. I don't believe I've ever met
this officer. A lot of peopleare pointing out his personnel record and I

(02:53):
know it has nothing to do withthis, but I just want you to
know that, you know the tributariesoff this base story seemed to be never
ending, and that's unfortunate for himbecause I've heard that there have been threats
against him and his family. Imean, I've heard some horrific stuff come
from all this because it's a globalstory and it keeps attracting negative publicity.
Right, So a couple things first, I think my job as mayor is

(03:16):
to work with the police chief toensure transparency. When you look at overall
what we are trying to achieve inour city of making our city safer.
I've been very clear, I wantLMPD to be the best police department in
America. I want it to bethe best trained, the most trusted,
and the most transparent. And Ithink over the long term, being transparent

(03:37):
and releasing footage like we did todayshortly after this happened helps build trust overall.
Whether people like or not don't likewith what they saw, that's what
we're going to be committed to andcommunicating with the public. Tomorrow, we're
releasing two videos of officer involved shootingsthat have happened in the past ten days,
because we created a new policy torelease body cam footage from officer involved

(04:00):
shootings with n ten business days,again to focus on transparency. So that
is what we are going that's inmy role as mayor. That's one of
the things that's going to remain importantto me because I think that's important to
the city and that's important to astrong LMPD that we can continue to recruit
folks, continue to support them,and reduce the amount of violent crime.

(04:21):
In our city. At the sametime, we can't forget a few things.
One, we suffered a tragic deathand the loss of mister Mills before
this happened. This was a dark, rainy and tense scene when all of
this happened. And second, whenwe were able to get through that,
we all continue to mourn the lossof mister Mills. Our city, Valhalla

(04:45):
Golf Course, the new owners ofValhalla. We put on an absolutely amazing
PGA Championship record setting viewership as Iunderstand, record setting attendance records say it,
setting corporate sales and support for orthis PGA Championship. We shined last
weekend Terry, when the eyes ofthe world were on our city and our
golf course, we shined. Wecame together in supporting one another in moving

(05:11):
forward. This is the second orthird time this month that we've done that.
We had the historic one hundred andfiftieth Kentucky Derby, now the PGA.
This weekend we have Jack Harlow's GazeboFest. What our city has done
and welcomed the world with our hospitalityover the last month is amazing and we
want to do that again and againand again. That's Louisville, that's our
strength, and I know everybody wantsto talk and focus on that, and

(05:33):
we will continue to communicate on thisissue. But let's not forget that as
well. LNPD, though, fillsup your dance card pretty frequently because there's
a lot of issues. Like yousaid, there's videos coming out tomorrow and
have you seen those? All?Right? I have? Are we going
to be shocked by the outcome orwhat we see? The images? We

(05:57):
see? What you will see inthe two incidents. In one of the
footages, you will see an individualwho called nine to one one himself.
They'll discuss the circumstances of that,and exited his house charging the police officers
with a very large knife and avery aggressive dog who was tased, got
up and then was shot. Andin the other video, you will see

(06:23):
officers who are seeking to question ahomicide suspect. They waited for him to
leave a store that they knew hewas in. They saw he was running
from them with a gun. Theytackled him, he's he fired off a
shot and then he was shot afterthat. These are very unfortunate incidents.

(06:45):
The loss of life is always tragic, but there is no place in our
city for individuals attacking police officers.The seventeen year old that was shot,
does one police officer question the otherpolice officer did you hear that in the
audio portion of that question the otherpolice officers why, yeah, why they
took a certain action you don't recallit. I did not hear that.

(07:09):
And also this handgun that this suspectfired. The shot was later confirmed to
be the homicide weapon. We're speakingwith Mayor Craig Greenberg back to the Valhalla
incident because of a couple more questions. You say that we can't see anything
on there is of the initial contactbetween LMPD officer and Scottie Scheffler. Is

(07:32):
there any recording of I mean,there's a lot of people around there,
and in one of the reports Iread that the officer filed said something about
a PGA person like advancing traffic too. Were there more than just LMPD out
there in the street. There wereothers there as well. You can see
in the video. I mean therewere a lot of people, and those
volunteers were in those buses that wereheaded to the track that were stopped because

(07:56):
the investigation into the death. Therewere other people that were around there as
well. But as I mentioned earlier, at the request of the county attorney,
any additional evidence or videos that mayexist will not be released until the
conclusion of this legal process. Wasa commanding officer removed from this detail after
this happened because there was confusion andthen it felt like that commander was not

(08:16):
in control. I don't have theanswer that look to that question. I
want to make sure I can answerthat correctly, and I don't know.
Okay, yeah, because there's alsotalk about an audio recording where you hear
Scheffler being read as rights and thenbeing told what the situation was, and
we haven't heard that yet, sothat might be information being met withheld by
the county attorney. The whole LMPDsituation with body cams is driving people crazy.

(08:45):
The Attorney General of the United Statescomes to our city and says,
wags his finger and says, hey, straighten up, essentially, and we're
having to follow the rules. Howcan we not just get that basic premise
that that body cameras Look. That'sthat's why the Chief and I thought it
was very important for us to communicatewith the public today. Under a week

(09:05):
after this interaction took place, thechief conducted an investigation. It was clear
that a body camera was not turnedon when under LMPD policy it should have
been turned on, and action wastaken. Corrective action was taken. As
a result of that, we movedin six days. Again, I think
that is very important as we lookto continue to build more trust with the

(09:31):
community. The community sees that whensomething happens that's not following policy, we
are going to take action and overa period of time, that is going
to build a stronger LMPD, onethat has stronger relations with the community,
that attracts the bet and retains thebest and the brightest. So we are
committed to that transparency. We're committedto moving quickly. That's what Louisville deserves

(09:52):
and that's what we're going to continueto support. We have made tremendous drides
forward. I also continue to Wehave a new contract for the police that
is going to help us attract andretain the two hundred and fifty more officers
that we need for our entire cityto have more public safety professionals. So
that's the direction that we're moving.In Terry, the attorney for Scottie Scheffler

(10:13):
said this earlier today. Scottie Schefferdidn't do anything wrong. We're not interested
in settling the case. We willeither try it or it'll be dismissed.
We're either going to try it,it's going to be dismissed. So there's
no settlement talk whatsoever. So arewe ready to go down that rat hole
where we might write a big checkto somebody for defamation or who knows what
else. Well, again, justso everyone understands the different folks that are

(10:37):
involved in this. The County Attorneyis a local elected official, Michae O'Connell
and his team that in essence ofthe prosecutor of this type of allegation,
so it is in their court rightnow. This is not something at this
point I am not part of thatlegal process. And so that's why,
again at the request of the CountyAttorney, we did certain and things today.

(11:01):
He and his team are responsible forthe legal process and moving it forward,
along with the judge and mister Romanswho just played there, who is
representing Scottie Scheffler. So those arethe folks that are involved right now.
And as I continue to say,I am hopeful that come June third,
everybody is able to move forward.I think that's important for all the parties

(11:24):
involved, that's important for our city. Let's celebrate the amazing PGA championship.
Let's celebrate the other great events thatare coming. We've got the Professional Lacross
the coming with its All Star gameagain this summer. We've got record breaking
Bourbon and Beyond and Louder than Lifethat are coming this fall. Let's get
back to the things that are bringingLouisville together and moving us forward. That's

(11:46):
my goal. That's where I'm goingto focus my time. You feel like
your overall relationship is great with thepolice is strong. I have worked very
hard to strengthen the administrate my relationshipas well as the administration's relationship with the
police. I think this week showsthat when something happens that doesn't go according
to policy, we're going to betransparent with the community about it. We're

(12:09):
going to take action. But wehave so many members. The vast you
know are are men and women thatwork on LMPD or dedicated public servants who
are working hard to keep you,me, every one of your listeners,
everyone in our city safe, andwe will continue to give them the resources
that they need to be the mosttrained, the best trusted, and the

(12:31):
most transparent police department in America.We understand we still have some steps we
need to take to get there,but that is our goal, that is
our plan, that is our path, and that's what the leadership of LMPD
and I are committed to. We'vehad a bunch of murders again in the
last few days, so those arethe things that need to be addressed.
Obviously, first and foremost the safety. So the people feel like just absolutely

(12:52):
walking out to get the mail,they're not going to get hurt, and
that's what they're focused on. Thatjust shows the professionalism of LMPD. Obviously,
there's an incident that happened that hasthe world's attention right now. Our
officers are out there working to keepeverybody safe, working to hold those accountable
that are committing these hemous act ofgun violence. That's what we're going to

(13:13):
continue to focus on. I waswatching Marty Smith on ESPN Sunday morning,
and he said he told the audienceI was getting ready to interview Scott A.
Scheffler. This has been obviously aday or two after the arrest and
he said, a group of liketwelve police officers, our police officers walk
by, and they all gave hima fist bump, you know. So,

(13:35):
I mean that's another show of well, maybe this is an overreach.
I mean, I mean, that'sthe interpretation I take away from that,
instead of them all turning away andI can oh, that guy tried to
hurt one of our brothers. Again, Let's let the legal process play out.
Let's all find out exactly what happened. And let's That's what I'm waiting
for. We're going to continue tofocus on reducing violent find gun violence.

(13:58):
We've got the budget proposal in frontof Metro Council right now. Forty plus
percent of our city's budget, aboutfour hundred and fifty million dollars, is
dedicated to public safety. That's theprimary and most important part of city government.
That's what we're going to focus on. Yeah, because you're supposed to
be the face of our city andright now, Scottie Scheffler is, and

(14:20):
that's going to be a thing weneed to take away from him. Well,
I'm going to tell what I'm goingto continue to talk about is we
had the historic hundred and fiftieth Derby, we had an amazing PGA Championship.
We're gonna have an amazing gazebo festivalwith Jack Harlow and Sizza this weekend.
Our summer is set for great things. People should come visit check our city
out. We have wonderful people here. We can host events like no one

(14:43):
else. I mean, just thinkabout the last thirty days Terry starting with
hundreds of thousands of people for Thunderover Louisville, through all the Kentucky Derby
Festival events every day out of ChurchillDown's Derby Week is like a Kentucky Derby
from a few years ago. Thesedays, plus the PGA Championship, We've
got a lot of great things isgoing on right now. I know some
folks are focused on this right now, but we're going to focus on all
of that and build on that positivemomentum. I hope you can cut through

(15:07):
the noise because it is all aboutthis every channel we're on internationally again today
and then when this next part comesup, it's going to be that same
way. And Romand says there's notgoing to be a settlement, So if
this were to go to trial,this would be just a bashing we don't
need. I'm very hopeful that allthe parties. As I've said before,
Darry, I'm hopeful that everyone canmove forward. All right, Well we

(15:30):
and you know me, I'm theeternal optimist, So I truly believe that
is the case. And I thinkmost people, you know, they're seeing
this on the news, They've gotquestions, they've got opinions, But when
it comes to every day, folksare focused a lot more on you know,
what are we doing to help improveJCPS. And that's something I'm working
on still today, is working onbringing in TARK and JCPS together to help

(15:50):
solve their transportation issue in the shortterm and help address a critical need that
we have for school families. Peopleare focused again on public safety, on
us continuing to address our homeless crisisthat we have here, to continue to
revitalize downtown, to make universal preK reality. That's what we're going to
continue to focus on. We can'tbe sidetracked just because of this incident that

(16:11):
happened last Friday. Yeah, wewere sitting here in the city center and
there was a lot of vacancy inthese buildings around us that would seem to
be job one. Yeah, acouple things. First of all, and
the last thing I want to sayon the PGA Championship is I would encourage
everyone to look up what the CEOof the PGA said on ESPN about our
city. That is the legacy ofour city and the PGA Championship. What

(16:33):
he said that the wonderful support andthat the Valhalla Ownership group that our city,
that we provided to them and howwe showed up. That's our legacy.
So I would encourage everyone to lookat that. And the other thing
is one of the great areas ofmomentum is here in downtown Louisville. For
the first time in decades, wewere able to work with the General Assembly,

(16:56):
with the leadership of the Senate andthe House, local elected leadership here
in the General Assembly and bring backone hundred million dollars to invest in downtown
Louisville, To invest in those vacantbuildings that you talked about, To rebuild
parking lots into mixed mixed use developments, To reimagine the Belvidere into a world

(17:17):
class destination where people want to comefrom all over. To build the community
Care campus, to help people whoare struggling with homelessness and provide them with
more services and shelter to make loommed The campus around our medical district this
amazing campus, place where people wantto work, where they want to be,
where they're enjoying outside, where theycan easily get from point A to
point B. That's the future ofour city. That's what we're focused on,

(17:40):
and that's what we're going to keepworking on. You did bring up
the CEO of the PGA, andhe did say glorious things about the city.
Those four owners of Valhalla have.What he said on the air was
they've pumped thirty million dollars into thiscity. I mean, that was a
magnificent event all around. But whata lot of people throw at us now

(18:00):
as they say you'll never get anevent like that again. I believe a
police incident. The feedback we haveheard all weekend long since the PGA Championship
concluded, which went down to thelast putt, has continued to be incredibly
positive feedback. Whether it's the PGA, any other golf organization, anyone who's

(18:22):
hosting big sporting events or any eventsperiod. Saw what we were able to
do, saw the hospitality our cityextended, saw these record breaking sales and
record breaking attendance. They saw thatthat was just two weeks after we did
this for the one hundred and fiftiethKentucky Derby. What other city in America
hosts a Kentucky Derby like event everyyear? Following two weeks of giant events

(18:47):
and one hundred thousand people for ThunderOver Louisville, a parade of steamboat race,
have mini marathon and a full marathonand more, has five days of
racing at the Kentucky Derby with hundredsof thousands of people, and then can
quickly turn that around and welcome twohundred thousand people out to another part of
our city for an amazing PGA Championship. Doesn't take a break and gets right

(19:08):
back in action and is welcoming theworld again this weekend to our waterfront,
our downtown for Jack Harlow's Gazebo fests. That is Louisville. That's who we
are. That's what we're going tocontinue doing. We're going to continue to
have amazing events. We're going tocontinue to post amazing events all summer long,
all fall. Along the feedback we'veheard from the PGA, from other

(19:30):
organizers of events, of sporting events, of meetings. There continues to be
great interest in Louisville, and I'mconfident our best days are ahead of us.
Did you get a firm commitment outof anybody from the PGA at a
dinner or is just having a bourbonwith them? Well? I did have
a lot of opportunity to get toknow them well and to talk about that,
and I think they are very positiveabout Louisville and their schedule in terms

(19:53):
of when they make announcements. They'realready committed for the next several years.
But I am very optimist about Louisville'schances to get another amazing PGA event back
here, as well as other amazinggolf and other sporting and non sporting events
to our city. Mayor, Iappreciate all this time. My pleasuretary always
great to take you as well.Your office is right over whether it come

(20:15):
over anytime, I definitely will.I've always got a cool beverage for you.
All right, we're coming right back. You're on news radio eight forty
wachs. That was Mayor Craig Greenberglive in studio