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Public Safety Chief To Leave Metro, Latest In String Of Departures

Amy Hess will step down as Metro's public safety chief in May 2021.
Amy Hess will step down as Metro's public safety chief in May 2021.

Louisville’s chief of public safety is stepping down next month.

In a news release, Amy Hess said she will leave Metro Government in May to devote more time to her family.

“I’m grateful to have had this opportunity to serve our community and the place I call home,” Hess said, according to the release. “This past year has given me tremendous insight and a new appreciation for all that local government does, especially during periods of tumultuous change.”

She joined Metro in February of 2020. In May, she moved into the new role of chief of public safety after former police chief Steve Conrad announced his retirement. That change came weeks before mass protests over the police killing of Breonna Taylor became commonplace downtown.

Hess oversaw LMPD, Louisville Fire, Corrections and Emergency Services. She came to Metro Government from the FBI, where she was executive assistant director of the Criminal, Cyber, Response, and Services Branch.

She’ll stay on the Criminal Justice Commission, a board tasked with researching ways to improve public safety.

“Throughout her tenure with Metro, Amy has proven to be a knowledgeable, skilled and steady hand, and she’s helped guide our public safety team through some tumultuous times,” Mayor Greg Fischer said, according to the release.

Hess is the latest in a string of city leaders to move on from Metro. Mary Ellen Wiederwohl, who in 2014 came on board as chief of the city’s economic development agency, Louisville Forward, stepped down at the end of 2020. And chief financial officer Daniel Frockt, who was in that position since 2015, will become the CFO and vice president for finance at Bellarmine University in July.

Fischer is serving his third and final mayoral term. The city will elect a new mayor in 2022.

Amina Elahi contributed to this story.