Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel has been suspended following concerns over how she has handled a workplace sexual harassment allegation involving LMPD officers, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced in a news conference Wednesday evening.
“I will not tolerate sexual misconduct in Louisville Metro Government, including in LMPD,” Greenberg said. “Rules and policies are in place for a reason and they need to be followed.”
Ryan Nichols, president of the River City Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 614, which represents LMPD officers, told The Courier Journal “it appears the mayor is making the appropriate steps and following the right protocol.”
Gwinn-Villaroel was not personally involved in the harassment allegation, Greenberg said. Further details of the allegation were not shared at the brief news conference, but attorney Jared Smith linked the suspension to a recent meeting between Gwinn-Villaroel and her command staff, where an allegation of sexual harassment was made, according to a press release Smith sent Thursday.
Jared Smith, of Jared Smith Law, DBA, Kentucky Trial Lawyers. represents LMPD Major Shannon Lauder, who complained of sexual harassment at a recent meeting involving Chief Gwinn-Villaroel. June 13, 2024
Smith represents Maj. Shannon Lauder, who, during the meeting, said she could not work with Maj. Brian Kuriger because he had “sexually harassed” and “attacked” her, the press release stated.
According to a recording of the meeting shared with The Courier Journal, which has not been independently verified, seconds of silence follow the major’s allegation before Gwinn-Villaroel resumes.
One minute later, Gwinn-Villaroel said Kuriger was being promoted to lieutenant colonel.
Gwinn-Villaroel is heard in the audio telling the major that while she heard her concerns, “we’ll have to revisit on the status moving forward.”
Mayor Craig Greenberg announces the leave of LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel and Paul Humphrey as interim chief on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
Smith said what Gwinn-Villaroel said in the recording was “deeply concerning as her tone toward her command staff is in my opinion, aggressive and threatening. The environment does not feel welcoming or safe.”
Smith added that Gwinn-Villaroel’s response to the allegation painted an “unsettling picture of a department lacking strong leadership and failing to prioritize the well-being of its officers.”
While Smith and Lauder are encouraged by Greenberg’s decision to suspend the chief, Smith said he is looking into the situation as the major takes time to process what happened and explore her options.
Smith added he was investigating “events that span the last four years.”
An independent investigation into Gwinn-Villaroel’s actions will be conducted by David Beyer, a former FBI agent who previously conducted scathing probes of in-custody deaths at Louisville’s jail and sexual misconduct at Louisville’s transit authority, according to a statement from the mayor’s office.
A separate independent investigation is currently underway into the sexual harassment claims, they added.
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Greenberg said this situation was “especially concerning,” given that one of the Department of Justice’s major findings was that LMPD did not adequately investigate officers accused of sexual misconduct in its investigation of the police department published last year.
While the outside investigation is performed, Gwinn-Villaroel will be on a “temporary, paid leave of absence,” Greenberg said.
In the interim, Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey is now active chief of the department.
LMPD Interim Chief Paul Humphrey speaks on his upcoming role as interim chief on Wednesday, June 12, 2024.
Humphrey said LMPD will fully cooperate with Beyer throughout his investigation and will respect his findings.
Gwinn-Villaroel was named LMPD’s permanent chief last July after a secretive search by the Greenberg administration, which refused to identify finalists for the job and required the panel interviewing candidates to sign non-disclosure agreements.
Once in the job, the chief faced controversy.
In January, The Courier Journal reported Gwinn-Villaroel had been suspended by Atlanta’s police department for lying and illicitly attempting to access files related to a narcotics investigation targeting a relative.
That revelation came shortly after the chief faced criticism in Louisville for false testimony at a civil trial last November. At that trial, she testified that she was not wearing a body camera at the scene of a fatal crash that followed an LMPD chase. However, an attorney representing plaintiffs suing the city showed a still image from another officer’s body camera that showed she was wearing one that day.
Kuriger did not immediately respond to an email and LinkedIn message sent by The Courier Journal. An automatic reply email from his Louisville Metro Government email account said he was out of the office from June 8 through June 16.