There is no cap on LMPD overtime — only union rules that require minimum rest between shifts. The rising overtime costs may not be tied solely to hours spent policing the streets.
There is no cap on LMPD overtime — only union rules that require minimum rest between shifts. The rising overtime costs may not be tied solely to hours spent policing the streets.
Story Highlights
A Louisville woman was beaten and held captive for hours in 2024 while police delayed responding to a 911 domestic violence call, raising concerns about how LMPD handled the case.
Internal records show a sergeant called officers off the run near shift change; that same officer later became the department’s top overtime earner, prompting questions about decisions and accountability.
An investigation revealed widespread overtime costs — $66 million over three years — along with concerns about policy loopholes, staffing shortages and whether taxpayer money is being used effectively.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Residents of a condo complex on Hite Lane in Louisville heard screaming around 6 p.m. Jan. 12, 2024, and called 911. They warned that the same home had recent domestic issues — and this time, the suspected abuser had taken the woman’s phone.
MetroSafe records show officers from the Louisville Metro Police Department took nearly three hours to knock on the door. When they arrived, Donna Stukenborg answered with blood running down her face and her eye swollen shut. Her ex-boyfriend, Richard Scott Gregory, had beaten her and held her captive with a knife during that time.
“I expected him to kill me that weekend,” Stukenborg said in an interview with WDRB News. “He punched me with his fist and then shattered (my face) — orbital fracture — and then my brain was bleeding.”
Stukenborg had an active domestic violence protection order against Gregory, requiring him to stay away from her. The order also required his arrest if he violated it.
That did not happen Jan. 12. Instead, LMPD internal investigation records show Sgt. Todd Jenkins told officers Kristopher Pedigo and Davis McCue — who were first assigned to the 911 call — not to respond. They were nearing the end of their shift, and Jenkins told the Professional Standards Unit investigator he did not want to “hold them over,” noting that domestic calls often take extra time.
“The call comes out, (and) they were a male and a female arguing on the steps,” Jenkins told the PSU investigator. “I didn’t think that was a high priority — even a domestic of this nature — that they were just arguing on the steps.”
LMPD delayed releasing internal investigation records explaining how the call was handled, including video and interviews tied to the response. The department released the footage four months after the first request and only after repeated follow-ups. In the video, Jenkins explained why he called officers off the run.
911 recordings show Jenkins assigned the call to himself, saying he would head there “slowly” and asked the dispatcher to notify him if anything escalated.
He never responded.
The screams eventually stopped, and neighbors did not call again. Stukenborg said she remained inside, suffering in silence and trying to survive.
“I kept thinking I can’t get away from him,” she said. “I just kept praying.”
25 days straight
Jenkins’ decision — and the failure to arrest Gregory that night — faced heavy scrutiny after Stukenborg filed a lawsuit.
“The rule is it’s a high-priority call,” said David Barber, Stukenborg’s attorney. “You can’t de-escalate it. You can’t hold it.”
As scrutiny increased, another issue emerged: the same sergeant who called officers off the run due to shift timing earned more overtime than anyone else in LMPD.
“Is there a correlation between things like this — violations of operating procedures and the amount of overtime that officers are working?” Barber asked.
Payroll records from Louisville Metro Government show Jenkins was the highest-paid employee in LMPD in 2024. He earned $294,000 that year — nearly three times his base salary — with $176,000 coming from overtime. That amount exceeded earnings of LMPD Chief Paul Humphrey, command staff and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.
“I was working 24, sometimes 25 days straight,” Jenkins said in a recent phone interview with WDRB News. “I was in the Army. Those hours are not nothing. Most of my overtime hours I was sergeant in other divisions. So although I was on the clock, I’m not physically out there taking runs.”
Jenkins is not alone. Payroll data from 2023 to 2025 shows 17 officers more than doubled their income through overtime. Another 170 officers earned at least $50,000 in overtime last year alone.
“I would love if we had a fully staffed police department and this wasn’t an issue we had to talk about,” River City FOP President John Ramsey said, pointing to officer shortages.
LMPD reportedly has 300 fewer officers, even as the city’s homicide rate declines.
“We’re making sure that the streets are safe, that officers have adequate backup, and that’s why you’re seeing an uptick in the amount of overtime,” Ramsey said.
Overtime has cost taxpayers $66 million over the past three years. Top earners like Jenkins average more than 80 hours a week, with some working 16-hour days and going weeks without a day off.
“I think overtime is a taxpayer issue. The real question, though, is, what are we paying for,” Barber said. “I don’t think any of us are going to be upset if it turns out that our tax dollars are being well spent and we’re paying fresh officers, we’re paying people that are doing their jobs right. But if we find out that our tax dollars are going to pay fatigued officers who maybe are not following the operating procedures, that are putting people in danger, nobody wants to pay for that.”
There is no overtime cap in LMPD, only union rules requiring minimum rest between shifts.
“I definitely don’t think that it is safe for the officers, especially with some of the things that they face every day,” Metro Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins said in an interview with WDRB after learning about the city’s overtime costs. “I appreciate the officers that want to come in and work overtime, but that’s a lot of overtime.”
A huge concern
The rising overtime costs may not come only from street policing. LMPD’s contract with Metro Government includes a provision stating that “annual leave/holidays shall be computed as days worked for the purposes of overtime.”
The union pushed to include this language in the 2023 contract.
This clause allows officers to use vacation time toward overtime calculations without working additional hours. For instance, if an officer takes vacation on Monday and Tuesday but works the rest of the week, those vacation days still count toward a 40-hour week — making any extra hours eligible for time-and-a-half pay.
This example applies to patrol officers and sergeants working an 80-hour, 14-day cycle, with a standard 40-hour schedule in the alternate week.
“We spend hundreds of hours going back and forth in negotiation on these benefits,” Ramsey said. “We’re trying to attract the best officers we can.”
The agreement goes beyond federal requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor states that although employees are paid for holidays, vacation or sick time, those hours “are not hours worked and need not be included in the total hours worked for overtime purposes.”
Among 21 union contracts across Metro Government, 19 specifically prohibit this benefit — except for police and fire. Fire department overtime costs are lower — about $41 million from 2023 to 2025 — and include safeguards to limit excessive overtime through staffing adjustments.
Ramsey said the union secured the provision in a contract that was backdated to 2023. Payroll records show overtime began rising that same year. The average employee’s overtime earnings increased from about $10,000 in 2023 to $25,000 last year — a 40% jump that outpaced wage growth.
“I’m kind of blown away … that’s a huge concern,” Hawkins said.
A previous investigation exposed officers falsifying overtime to increase pay and retirement benefits. Former officers Brian Stanfield, Todd Roadhouse and Mark Final pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2020. Two admitted their actions reflected a broader “culture” within the department.
After admitting guilt, Roadhouse and Final requested probation instead of prison, arguing their behavior was not unusual, according to U.S. District Court documents.
Roadhouse, described as one of the department’s top officers, “succumbed to a long standing culture whereby overtime hours were often padded,” his attorney said in court records.
In a statement to the judge, Final said his supervisor often sent him home early while allowing him to claim overtime he did not work.
“This was not something that was hidden. This was done routinely, and everyone is aware of it,” he wrote. “I have always been a ‘rules guy.’ I guess that I just began to go along with the cultural norms instead of following my own path of what I knew to be right.”
U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings sentenced all three men to 21 months of probation.
Hawkins said she supports overtime but questioned whether it is being used effectively in the areas that need it most.
“Where are they?” she asked. “If you got 17 officers that are coming in for overtime, how much of a difference are they really making?”
As vice chair of the council’s public safety committee, Hawkins said she would support an independent audit of LMPD overtime practices to determine who is working, where they are assigned and whether the system aligns with the city’s needs.
“I want to make sure that I am doing my due diligence, serving the city of Louisville (and) serving my district. So yes, I’m definitely going to take the first dive into it. I do believe the taxpayers deserve an answer,” she said, adding that excessive overtime may lead to questionable decisions.
It’s so hurtful
Gregory received a 10-year prison sentence for the attack on Stukenborg. Jenkins retired during the investigation into the response and later moved to Texas.
“I’m sorry this happened to this individual, but it was beyond our control,” Jenkins said.
LMPD records show the Professional Standards Unit investigator recommended domestic violence policy violations against three officers, including Jenkins.
The PSU major later moved to clear the other two.
Humphrey declined an interview. A department spokesperson issued a statement calling overtime a “reality” in public safety, noting it helps maintain consistent coverage during investigations and supports quick emergency responses across the city.
“LMPD is grateful to our officers who are dedicated to keeping Louisville safe,” the statement said.
Stukenborg said she did not feel that dedication when she needed it most. As officers failed to respond that night in 2024, she said she suffered alone — and the officer who earned the most overtime made her feel like she mattered the least.
“I don’t understand your role as a cop,” she said. “… It’s so hurtful … you trust them, and it felt like they didn’t care.”
A judge dismissed Stukenborg’s lawsuit against Jenkins in Jefferson Circuit Court because it was filed after the one-year statute of limitations. Barber argues that Metro Government delayed records requests and concealed Jenkins’ role in the delayed response. He plans to appeal the case.
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