The police major who roused the ire of some protesters after criticizing the Black Lives Matter movement has been relieved of her duties with the Louisville Police Department.
Louisville’s Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder and Mayor Greg Fischer announced on Friday that Maj. Bridget Hallahan would be relieved of her duties with the department but would remain on staff until Oct. 1, when she will begin her retirement.
Hallahan, who was the leader of the department’s 5th Division, outraged many local leaders when she criticized antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters in an email to members of her department. She claimed that protesters were demonstrating against the department “without even knowing the facts.”
“These ANTIFA and BLM people, especially the ones who just jumped on the bandwagon ‘yesterday’ because they became ‘woke’ (insert eye roll here), do not deserve a second glance or thought from us. Our little pinky toenails have more character, morals, and ethics, than these punks have in their entire body,” Hallahan wrote.
“Do not stop to their level. Do not respond to them. If we do, we only validate what they did. Don’t make them important, because they are not. They will be the ones washing our cars, cashing us out at the Walmart, or living in their parents’ basement playing COD for their entire life,” she added.
The email appeared to be sent by Hallahan after members of the department were doxxed by protesters. She told the members of her team that they could “vent” to her if they needed to talk about the stress of the job.
“There is currently no recourse we have for incidents involving the doxing of officers or their families,” Hallahan wrote. “What we can do is speak up against them and put the truth out there.”
Several local leaders criticized Hallahan for the email, including Councilman Bill Hollander, who called on Fischer to fire Hallahan.
The Louisville police department has been the focus of protests for several months following the fatal police shooting of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old healthcare worker. Protests escalated on Wednesday after a grand jury opted to indict one of three officers involved in the raid of Taylor’s home on a charge not directly related to Taylor’s death. None of the officers were dealt homicide charges. Two Louisville officers were shot during the protests on Wednesday.
