After a failed motion to enter executive session, London City Council heard the concerns of community members regarding the Dec. 23 fatal shooting of a Lily man by a London Police officer.
Council Member Holly Little made the motion Monday evening that the council enter executive session to hear legal advice from a staffer with the Kentucky League of Cities, but the motion did not receive a second.
New Council Member Anthony Ortega would go on to make a motion “to allow the public to speak,” which was unanimously approved.
Before the audience could get started, London Mayor Randall Weddle made a statement to them, saying that his office is committed to having transparency regarding the shooting.
“My office has initiated an administrative investigation,” he said. “However, we cannot reach a conclusion until the Kentucky State Police have completed their inquiry.”
He closed by offering his condolences to the family of 63-year-old Douglas Harless.
The large crowd prompted city officials to move the meeting from regular council chambers to a larger room at the London Community Center.
Several residents then spoke, stating their concerns regarding which judge signed off on the LPD search warrant, the absence of officer body cameras, and the minimal input from city officials. They were each allotted at least two minutes to speak.
The council did not share the judge who signed off on the search warrant.
To a comment that no information was coming from the city, Mayor Weddle responded that Kentucky State Police — which is investigating the shooting — has asked them not to say anything regarding the investigation.
“That is the only reason we have not made any statements regarding this,” the mayor said.
Regarding the conversation surrounding body cams, one woman suggested that the council discuss how to bring back the use of the cameras in their next meeting. Weddle shared that the previous cameras are “probably in surplus,” as they had been purchased as long ago as 2016.
The practice of having London officers wear body cams was suspended in March 2023. Weddle along with council members Kelly Greene, Stacy Benge, and Justin Young directly expressed their support Monday for body cam use.
Greene stated, “I say keep the cameras off the buildings and put them on the cops,” to which the audience applauded her. This was directly in response to the recent addition of city-owned cameras to buildings.
Other council members made additions to the new business section of the meeting as well. The first was Council Member Greene, who made two motions.
Greene’s initial motion was to hire an attorney to represent the council. The motion passed. Greene’s second motion was that a committee to select the attorney be formed, and that the committee would include herself, Benge, and Ortega. This motion also passed, with both receiving a ‘no’ only from Little.
Councilperson Kip Jervis was unable to attend the meeting via Zoom due to technical difficulties.
When an audience member asked who City Attorney Larry Bryson represents, Benge said, “Himself.”
The individual went on to ask Bryson, “The City of London? Are these people [council members] not part of the City of London?”
Greene added, “Amen.”
Bryson told the individual that this was the choice of the council members.
“I know they chose to do that,” the man stated. “They feel like they’re not being represented by you.”
Council Member Benge then made two motions as well. Benge’s first motion was regarding an interagency agreement with the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office in cooperation with the HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Interdiction Task Force. He asked that the council repeal the agreement, stating that it is no longer used. According to Mayor Weddle, one individual did remain on the task force.
The council would later attempt to contact Laurel Sheriff John Root to confirm or deny the statement, as requested by community member Douglas Phelps, but received no response. The motion passed.
Benge’s other motion was that the council amend their 2024 budget under the police salaries. He shared that that total budget had been $2,450,000.
“On the line item titled police salaries in the column titled general fund, I make the motion that the $1.715 million be reduced to $1.215 million, effectively reducing the budget by $500,000. This amount will leave the total police salaries at $1,950,000, which is still $290,000 more than it was when we took office,” he stated.
The motion was approved.
London City Council meets on the first Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. The council’s February meeting will take place on Feb. 3, at the London Community Center.