Scott Brunner, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the Kentucky Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced the recipient of the 2011 FBI Director’s Community Leadership Award.  Brunner presented with the award Tuesday evening to Chief Norman Mayer, of Louisville, Kentucky, at a ceremony held the St. Matthews City Hall.

Brunner stated that since 1990, the FBI has publicly recognized the achievements of individuals and organizations whose efforts in the crime, drug, gang, violence prevention, or education field have had an exemplary impact on the community. Each of the FBI’s 56 field offices annually recommends to the FBI Director one person or organization deemed worthy of this prestigious award.

Chief Mayer began his career with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and later joined the Louisville Police Department where he rose through the ranks achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. In 1988, Chief Mayer was named Chief of Police of the St. Matthews Police Department. He quickly made changes within the agency that positively impacted the department and the community it serves. Today, the St. Matthews Police Department is accredited and is considered one of the finest police departments in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

One of the most important contributions that Chief Mayer has made to the St. Matthews community is one that has also been important throughout Kentucky and its impact may be felt for generations to come. In 1996, Chief Mayer established the first School Resource Officer (SRO) program in Kentucky, in his words, “to maintain an environment where teachers feel safe to teach and students feel safe to learn.” The program was intended to address the trend of increasing crime and disorder in our schools. The program had a remarkable effect on the environment and safety of our schools and was heralded as a success. The program became a national model for law enforcement agencies and schools throughout the United States. Today there are approximately 200 School Resource Officers in Kentucky. Chief Mayer encouraged his SRO to become a national SRO training instructor. To date, that officer has trained over 400 police officers nationwide to fill this important role.

Mayer created a Criminal Investigative Division to conduct more in-depth investigations of matters within St. Matthews. He also established a Special Response Team (SRT) composed of specially trained patrol officers who could respond to active shooter incidents at the schools or large malls within the community. He solicited help from the Louisville FBI SWAT team to provide active shooter training for his personnel. He has maintained a close liaison with the Louisville FBI and appropriately recognizes incidents as potential federal criminal or terrorism matters.

Chief Mayer’s influence is apparent in the leadership positions held by his own police officers in some of Kentucky’s most important law enforcement organizations such as “The Kentucky School Resource Officers Association,” “The Kentucky Women in Law Enforcement Network,” and “The Drug Abuse Resistance Education Program.” Chief Mayer has been a mentor to countless police officers throughout Kentucky. He has been an ethical and moral leader and he continues to set high standards for others to follow. He has clearly earned the respect and admiration of his officers and community.

Chief Mayer will be afforded the opportunity to travel to Washington, D.C. in March 2012 to be personally recognized by the FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III at a national ceremony to be held at FBI Headquarters.

------------

Louisville.com's The Arena section features opinions from active participants in the city's politics. Their viewpoints are not those of Louisville.com (a website is an inanimate object and, as such, has no opinions).  Photos courtesy St. Matthews Police Department.