Tracie Handley, recently appointed mayor by city councilmembers, sent a letter to KY State Police with three concerns for the case that began nearly nine months ago.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tracie Handley, the recently appointed mayor of London, Kentucky, sent a letter to the commissioner of the Kentucky State Police concerning its investigation into the officer-involved shooting of Doug Harless last December.

RELATED: London City Council votes to impeach Mayor Randall Weddle

Kelly Gipson, a member of the advocacy group Justice for Doug, which was formed by community members to press leaders for answers about the case, said Handley’s letter was a needed change of tone.

“I respect her for putting that letter out. The Cc’d the AG (Attorney General), she Cc’d the governor. So, they know that she wants to work towards getting this resolved,” Gipson said.

The letter has three action items for investigators. It asks for a preliminary finding into the investigation, a list of non-sensitive items related to the case, including the search warrant, and a timeline with a “specific, realistic” completion date for the investigation.

Gipson, who grew up in London but lives in Liberty, said that she, like advocates who regularly demonstrate in the city, has grown frustrated by boilerplate answers from leaders deferring to the state police’s ongoing investigation. She said leaders could have more proactively worked to alleviate advocates’ concerns. 

According to Gipson, a lack of transparency from leaders has energized her to help advocate from a distance. She said she trusted local law enforcement when she was growing up, but worries that her children, who live in London, won’t have the same experience due to the Harless case.

“Safety should be a priority. Period. If you have safety, then you have public trust; but you cannot get there without transparency and some type of reform,” she said.

10News contacted the KSP for comment. Trooper Scottie Pennington, a spokesperson for Post 11 in London, sent the following statement.

“The Kentucky State Police understands the importance of this case for all parties involved. KSP is committed to conducting a thorough investigation, and detectives are meticulously reviewing all aspects of the incident. The investigation remains open at this time, and to protect the integrity of the investigation, specific information will not be released. As soon as the investigation is complete, it will be submitted to the prosecutor for review, at which time additional information may be available to the public.”

Mayor Handley’s office didn’t respond to requests for an interview. According to another statement on the city’s website, she will begin accepting media requests the week of Sept. 15. The statement said the delay was necessary for the mayor to organize her office after the city council impeached former mayor Randall Weddle recently.