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Who is Bridget Hallahan? All about Louisville police major who called BLM and Antifa supporters 'punks'

In a disparaging email she wrote: 'Our little pinky toenails have more character, morals, and ethics, than these punks have in their entire body'

The Louisville, Kentucky, Metro Police Department is looking into a derogatory email a police major sent to her colleagues in August 2020 that said people who are part of Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movement are "punks", a spokesman said.

The message purportedly written by Major Bridget Hallahan reads, "I know it is hard to keep our thoughts and opinions to ourselves sometimes, especially when we, as a whole or as an individual, become the target of people in the public who criticize what we do without even knowing the facts," the Louisville Courier-Journal reported. "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," the disparaging mail continued.

"Do not stoop 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," it added.

The message also claims that cops and their families are being "doxed merely because people just don’t like being told what to do or what not to do by police". "There is currently no recourse we have for incidents involving the doxing of officers or their families," the writer says. "What we can do is speak up against them and put the truth out there."

Councilman Brandon Coan said the message seems "out of character" for Hallahan, "and that’s why it’s so shocking". "I’m disappointed," he told Courier-Journal. "I think it’s a totally unacceptable attitude of any police officer and extremely poor leadership from a major. I think she owes the community an apology and she’ll have to deal with the consequences of her conduct."

Phillip Bailey, a journalist in Louisville, tweeted screenshots of the email on Tuesday evening. He said it had been provided to him by an unnamed law enforcement source. In the tweet he wrote, "How frustrated is @LMPD? A law enforcement source got me this August message from Maj. Bridget Hallahan to 5th Div. (Highland) officers calling protesters 'punks' who 'will be the ones washing our cars, cashing us out at the @Walmart or living' with their parents. #BreonnaTaylor."

Who is Bridget Hallahan?

Major Hallahan, who is now working as the commander of the Louisville's fifth division, began her career in 1999 by working with Jefferson County Police Department (JCPD). She served as a patrol officer and detective in the former David District and the Third Division.

In April 2008, she was promoted to the rank of sergeant and assigned to the Seventh Division. She also served as a sergeant in the Professional Standards Unit (PSU) and the Training Division. In September 2013, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant where she served as the late watch commander in the Third Division until transferring to the Crimes Against Children Unit (CACU) of the Major Crimes Division in 2015.

She was promoted to the rank of Major on August 1, 2017, and commanded the Training Division. Hallahan is a certified law enforcement instructor and is certified to teach patrol, investigations, child abuse investigations and leadership. Major Hallahan has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from the University of Louisville and is currently completing her Master of Science. In 2009, she graduated from the Academy of Police Supervision at the Department of Criminal Justice Training. In 2010, she graduated from the Southern Police Institute’s 123rd Administrative Officers Course as a Dean’s Scholar.