Josh Wood

Jefferson County’s first new sheriff in decades is making big changes David James never saw himself as sheriff. Now he is transforming the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office by boosting law enforcement operations and modernizing technology, despite his short tenure.

Kentucky's most populous county recently got its first new sheriff in decades — and massive changes are underway for the sheriff's office.

Here's a look at how David James is transforming the JCSO, and why you may see more deputies around Louisville.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

LMPD quietly halves ShotSpotter coverage, keeps devices only in West End Louisville Metro Police quietly reduced its use of the ShotSpotter gunshot detection system, records show. The system is only in place in the West End now.

LMPD quietly cut its ShotSpotter gunshot detection coverage in half.

The devices now only operate in Louisville's West End.

More:

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

Digging In: A spate of Kentucky prison homicides The Courier-Journal recently reviewed a rash of homicides at an Eastern Kentucky prison.

I spoke with @lpm.org about my recent @thecourierjournal.bsky.social reporting on prison homicides in Kentucky.

Listen/read here:

www.lpm.org/investigate/...

Louisville traffic stops are on the rise. Is LMPD back to its old ways? Louisville police sharply increased traffic stops in 2025, a strategy officials link to falling crime, but critics say risks deepening disparities.

"Black drivers were stopped 2.8x as often as white drivers, searched roughly 5.5x as often, cited 2.2x as often, issued equipment violation citations 3.2x as often and arrested about 4x as often."

Important read from my colleague Monroe Trombly:

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

Three homicides in four months. What is going on at this Kentucky prison? One Kentucky prison has counted three homicides in a span of just over four months.

Between 2001 and 2019 there were six homicides in all Kentucky state prisons combined according to federal data.

But since Aug. 31, one Kentucky facility has reached half that total.

More:

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/l...

LMPD bans officers from moonlighting for suburb after Courier Journal report Louisville Metro Police officers are now prohibited from working for Worthington Hills after the suburb proposed paying bonuses to off-duty officers for traffic stops.

After @thecourierjournal.bsky.social reported on a Louisville suburb's controversial plan to pay off-duty police bonuses for traffic stops that result in citations or charges, LMPD banned its officers from moonlighting there.

More:

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

Louisville police can keep license plate cameras locations secret, AG says Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman says Louisville Metro Police Department doesn’t have to reveal where it installed Flock Safety license plate reader cameras.

Welp, at KyCIR we lost our appeal to the Kentucky attorney general challenging LMPD's refusal to release records showing where its Flock license plate reader cameras are located in Louisville. Here's what the AG decided, and why two open records experts disagree👇

Federal prosecutors argued Laryen Torres-Carmona assaulted two ICE officers when he resisted arrest. A jury didn't buy that argument. Read more: tinyurl.com/yjz3fdya

Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort arrested after covering Minnesota church protest It was not immediately clear what charges that Minnesota independent journalist Georgia Fort and former CNN anchor Don Lemon were facing for the Jan. 18 protest at Cities Church.

Journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who accompanied protesters inside a St. Paul church and documented the action, have been arrested.

KY Gov. Beshear wants judge to toss Herald-Leader lawsuit seeking his calendar Gov. Andy Beshear’s office argues the case law the Lexington newspaper seeks to overturn is “settled precedent.”

But Michael Abate, the attorney representing the Herald-Leader, said nothing in the law *requires* the governor to keep his calendar secret.

“If he wanted to set an example of transparency, he could release his calendars to the public to show people how he’s been spending his time,” Abate said.

UPS is permanently retiring its MD-11 plane fleet following the deadly MD-11 crash in Louisville in November that killed 15 people.

www.courier-journal.com/story/money/...

In Louisville, half the people charged last year in license plate reader cases were Black In Louisville, local civil liberty advocates told KyCIR they worry anti-Black bias plays role in who gets arrested due to license plate readers.

An investigation by @lpm.org's KyCIR found half of LMPD criminal citations that detailed the use of Flock license plate readers last year were issued to Black people.

LMPD did respond to questions sent by the outlet.

www.lpm.org/investigate/...

"LMPD has not responded to an email from The Courier Journal about the social media account, but posted the email verbatim X and wrote that their account was not hacked."

www.courier-journal.com/story/weathe...

I missed this last week: Journalists at the Louisville Courier Journal finally got a ratified CWA union contract, years after voting to unionize (back in 2022 when I was still there.) ✊ @jwoodjourno.bsky.social newsguild.org/journalists-...

Ashley Elgin's husband was killed with just days before his scheduled release from prison.

Now, she is pushing for reform.

My latest for @thecourierjournal.bsky.social

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

A KY probation officer pursued women on his caseload. He was allowed to resign Officer Paul Duncan used his position at the Department of Corrections to make plays for female offenders he was attracted to, records show.

A Kentucky probation officer pursued women on his caseload - women he could have sent back to jail with a phone call.

The Dept of Corrections allowed him to resign.

From John Cheves at @kentucky.com:

www.kentucky.com/news/politic...

FBI executes search warrant at Washington Post reporter’s home The reporter, Hannah Natanson, covers the federal workforce and has been part of The Post’s most sensitive coverage of the first year of the second Trump administration.

FBI agents searched a Washington Post reporter's home this morning, seizing her work and personal computers, her phone and a Garmin watch.

www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...

U of L, UK use Flock license plate readers to monitor drivers. Here’s where their cameras are. The cameras capture details of vehicles around each campus.

University of Louisville and University of Kentucky turned over the locations of their Flock license plate reading cameras to @lpm.org after initially denying open records requests.

Here's where their cameras are located:

www.lpm.org/investigate/...

A Kentucky sheriff who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor-level harassment charge last year will not seek re-election.

He was among the sheriffs featured in a @thecourierjournal.bsky.social investigation on KY sheriffs with criminal charges or convictions.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/i...

Louisville Metro Police relies on an army of Flock license plate readers across the city. While some cities disclose where these are located, LMPD doesn't.

@courierjournal.bsky.social found dozens of locations where they have been installed or permitted:

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

Herald-Leader sues Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his schedule The lawsuit also seeks the calendars of Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman and Beshear’s senior adviser Rocky Adkins.

We're suing Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for access to his calendar.

Police dogs aren't just tracking the smells of drugs and people these days: electronic detection dogs can sniff out cell phones and hard drives.

Kentucky agencies have several of these dogs. I got to meet two: www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

Louisville police commanders entangled in internal investigation of license plate reader searches The internal probe relates to an officer’s ICE-related searches of license plate data.

A trio of Louisville Metro Police Department commanders are ensnared in an internal investigation into an officer’s use of the city’s license plate reader database, according to records obtained by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting. From @morganwatkins.lpm.org

Nearly 200 license plate readers keep watch on Louisville drivers. LMPD won’t say where they are License plate reader cameras are growing in popularity among police nationwide. But some local agencies refuse to disclose device locations.

Where are LMPD's license plate readers? Louisville Metro Government won't say (or provide documents in open records requests).

Meanwhile, Kentucky's second-largest city, Lexington, publicly shares the approximate location of its readers.

www.lpm.org/investigate/...

At least a dozen Kentucky sheriffs have no record of ever being certified law enforcement officers.

Kentucky doesn't require sheriffs to be certified, but experts say certification is critical for anyone exercising police powers.

My latest: www.courier-journal.com/story/news/i...

Border Patrol is monitoring US drivers and detaining those with 'suspicious' travel patterns The U.S. Border Patrol is monitoring millions of American drivers nationwide in a secretive program to identify and detain people whose travel patterns it deems suspicious.

AP finds a secretive Border Patrol intelligence program detains Americans for “suspicious” travel. Critics call it mass surveillance.

The Louisville Police Merit Board voted to halve a suspension for a high-ranking LMPD officer who failed to report a subordinate's use of potentially deadly force against a man who chugged a stolen drink in a hotel gift shop.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

LMPD arrested a man after alleging he filmed a social media video of himself conducting a fake DUI test & stealing cigarettes while pretending to be an LMPD officer.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/c...

A Northern Kentucky judge has dismissed remaining misdemeanor charges against a Cincinnati CityBeat reporter who was arrested over the summer while covering an ICE protest.

www.courier-journal.com/story/news/2...

LMPD officer used ICE keyword for license plate search. Now he’s under investigation Louisville Metro Police is investigating an officer’s use of its license plate reader database after KyCIR revealed he listed an ICE-related keyword on over 100 searches.

An LMPD officer is facing an internal affairs investigation after KYCIR reporting found he listed an ICE-related acronym as the reason for more than 100 license plate searches.

www.lpm.org/investigate/...