Article originally appeared in the June 2023 Legacy Ledger (Issue 34).
It’s interesting how one lesson or one conversation can shape an entire career.
For Brian “Ozzy” Gibson, that moment came early, and it led to a 27-year career with the Louisville Metro Police Department, where he rose to Deputy Chief and continued serving in major leadership roles across the city.
His story is full of moments that reflect both strong values and a willingness to step up whenever needed.
-Rex Bickers (FCHS ‘70)
Brian “Ozzy” Gibson
(FCHS, 1984)
Brian “Ozzy” Gibson credits a Galena teacher, Mr. Joe Cailles, for a memorable early lesson in “values”. Mr. Cailles was out for a few days. A few kids started misbehaving badly, then pandemonium followed. When Mr. Cailles returned, he didn’t single out the instigators. He rolled out an assignment to every kid in the class… write a short essay on this: “the misconduct of a few… corrupts and steals the learning opportunity for the many”.
Ozzy never forgot this lesson. In yet another small world twist, his family had friends in Greenville named Regina and Wayne Kessinger. Wayne was a Louisville Police Department captain, and he offered this life-changing advice: “you should consider police work as a profession”. Wayne would go on to work with Frank Loop in the Floyd County Sheriff’s Department. As Ozzy recalls, he was certainly lacking direction when he got that advice. He completed a degree at Ivy Tech in Business Operations at the time. Years later, he earned his B.S. in Criminal Justice from Bethel University.
In 1989, he joined the Louisville Police Department. In his class of new recruits, some of the training officers started calling him “Ozzy”. The nickname stuck. Over the next 27 years, he was a training officer, detective, sergeant, lieutenant and major, with eight years on the SWAT team. He became assistant chief in 2011 and deputy chief in 2014.
Along the way, he was awarded four Meritorious Unit Citations, two medals of Merit and more than fifty letters of commendation. He’s received Community Service awards from UPS, LG&E, US Marshals service, Commonwealth Attorney’s Office and the Jefferson County Circuit Clerk’s Office. He feels lucky and honored that he was chosen for some unique opportunities: the U.S Secret Service Dignitary Protection, DEA Covert Drug Operations, Department of Homeland Security, and the Louisville Metro Police Foundation.
In 2016, he retired as deputy chief, with the rank of colonel. Just months after leaving LMPD, Ozzy was asked to “un-retire” and take over Louisville’s Animal Shelter. Its conditions were dismal at the time. As director, he led the shelter’s staff through the construction of a 12 million dollar state of the art facility. A “No Kill Shelter” standard of 90% live release rate was achieved.
In 2019, Ozzy became the Interim Chief of Public Safety, overseeing the Animal Shelter, Metro Corrections, Louisville Fire Department, Public Works, Fleet and Facilities, along with Metro Safe/EMS. When Covid 19 emerged, Ozzy joined an operational team, aimed at handling unforeseeable needs as they unfolded.
These duties lasted until January 2023. With a new mayor elected, he now has dual titles: interim director of Parks/Recreation and executive director of Louisville Riverfront Authority. Is there any new timeline to retire? With no hint of bragging, he answers candidly: “I will do any job that is asked of me”. He is firmly committed to Mayor Greenberg’s success. Ozzy and his wife Annetta have lived in Louisville for three decades now. They share three wonderful sons together, a daughter in-law and one grandson.
Read the entire June 2023 Legacy Ledger (Issue 34).