Ishmon Burks became the Chief of Police on December 6, 2011. He formerly served as the Commissioner of the Kentucky State Police, Chairperson of the Kentucky Parole Board and as Secretary of the Commonwealth of Kentucky Justice Cabinet.

Chief Burks is currently an assistant professor and academic coordinator of criminal justice at Jefferson Community and Technical College. He is a former vice president at Spalding University.

Chief Burks had a distinguished career in the U.S. Army, where he earned the rank of Colonel.

Chief Burks has been active in the Louisville community. He has been a board director for the Louisville Ballet and a board member of the African American Heritage Foundation, among other things. Most recently, he was a member of the Merger 2.0 Task Force, appointed by Mayor Fischer, to examine the first decade of city-county merger.

Chief Burks has a Master of Arts in Criminology from City University in New York.


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