LMPD chief explains legality issues in Tasha White investigation
Louisville Metro Police Department's chief is standing by the department's missing persons policy after a recent death raised questions.
Family has been asking, could more have been done to find Tasha White after she was reported missing?
White's family said they reported her missing on April 30, the same day that White's employer requested a welfare check from LMPD. However, LMPD's records show a missing persons report was not officially filed for White until May 1.
Although a missing persons report was filed, LMPD did not issue a public alert for White.
On Friday, we asked LMPD why that was. In response, they sent us a statement, as well as a regarding missing persons.
White's family told us they are frustrated by that, and said they felt like they did provide enough evidence to show that White could be in danger.
Tuesday was the first time that we were able to speak with LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey to ask more about this case.
When asked about White's family being frustrated by LMPD's response to this case, Humphrey said:
"I feel really badly for any family that's lost a loved one, regardless of the circumstances. We operated based on the information that we were provided, by various sources, including the family. And, from what I can tell it at this point, the information that we provided was acted on appropriately.
"Had we had information that was discovered after the fact, that may have changed things, but we can't act on things that we haven't been told or haven't been made aware of by other parties. We exhausted the extent of what we could legally do. I know there might be some misunderstanding about why didn't we search her house. Why don't we track her phone?
"She was an adult. If if my sister calls you and says that I'm missing, I still have rights. You can't just get a search warrant for my phone or my house because my sister says I'm missing. And so that was the circumstance we were in. We were not given any information that would allow us, legally, to be any more intrusive into her rights at that point."
We also asked if LMPD has reviewed their policy on response to a missing persons in light of this case. Humphrey said:
"I can say we sat down as an executive staff with our legal team and reviewed our policy, and we did put [the policy] out to you all. We feel pretty comfortable with our policy the way that it is, it complies with the law."
On Friday, in a press conference hosted by Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins and family members of White, the question was posed of as to whether race may have played a role in LMPD's response to this case.
We asked Humphrey that question.
"As far as race playing a role in this, no, it didn't."
The chief said more information, which would provide more clarity in the circumstances surrounding the case, would be available soon.