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Recording sheds light on circumstances surrounding Louisville police chief's administrative leave

Gwinn-Villaroel was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into her handling of a sexual harassment claim involving LMPD officers.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — An audio recording obtained by WHAS11 sheds light on the sexual harassment allegation that led to Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel being put on paid administrative leave on Wednesday.

Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg addressed the situation Wednesday evening in a news conference and placed Gwinn-Villaroel on administrative leave. Greenberg said he made the move due to her handling of the allegation, which was made by one LMPD employee against another who was up for promotion.  

The chief is heard on the recording criticizing majors in the department and threatening demotions this year before asking everyone in the meeting if there’s anybody they can’t work with. 

“I will not have a major that cannot get along and support another major because ya’ll had an issue,” she said. “I will not tolerate quick attitudes. I will not tolerate if you cannot take criticism, you get into this emotional shutdown, and now you’re just falling apart. 

“People will question me on who I promote next. Guess what. They’ll mumble about it, but they won’t come to me about it.” 

Maj. Shannon Lauder then spoke up. 

“Ma’am, I cannot work with [Major Brian Kuriger],” Lauder said. “He has sexually harassed me and attacked me, and I cannot work with him.” 

About 20 seconds of silence followed before Gwinn-Villaroel continued asking those on the call if they had an issue with anyone else. 

A minute later, Gwinn-Villaroel promoted Kuriger to the rank of lieutenant colonel. 

Towards the end of the recording, the chief addressed Lauder. 

“Major Lauder I have heard your concerns and I understand you can’t, so we have to revisit on the status moving forward,” she said. 

 Lauder then apologized that the allegation “had to come out in this way.” 

“I know now is not a good time to bring it up, but I didn’t want you to say that, you know, later, that I didn’t bring it up,” she said. 

Lauder’s attorney, Jared Smith, provided this statement to WHAS11 News: 

What we hear LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel say in this recording is deeply concerning as her tone toward her command staff is in my opinion, aggressive and threatening. The environment does not feel welcoming or safe. Even more alarming is the way Chief Gwinn-Villaroel responds to Major Shannon Lauder’s allegation that she would have an issue working with Major Brian Kuriger because she felt he had sexually harassed her.  The Chief’s response to Major Lauder’s allegation paints an unsettling picture of a department lacking strong leadership and failing to prioritize the well-being of its officers. We are currently looking into this matter and Major Lauder is taking time to process what occurred and explore her options. We are encouraged by the action Mayor Greenburg has taken.

In a news conference Wednesday, Greenberg announced that he put Gwinn-Villaroel on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation into her handling of a sexual harassment claim involving LMPD officers.

“When I took my oath of office to become mayor of this great city, I made a commitment to serve the people of Louisville with honesty, transparency and by taking action,” Greenberg said. “I hold myself and all the leads of the agencies that report to me to the highest of standards, and that certainly includes LMPD. I take all sexual harassment allegations and the handling of the allegations very seriously, which is why I came to this decision.”

Greenberg said he was made aware of concerns regarding how Gwinn-Villaroel responded to a workplace sexual harassment allegation involving LMPD officers. 

The mayor said Gwinn-Villaroel is not personally alleged to have violated sexual harassment policies; however, reports of her handling of the allegation led Greenberg to start an independent investigation into her actions. 

Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey was named acting chief. He has served LMPD for 18 years and serves as the leading officer working with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). 

Earlier this week, Greenberg and General Counsel David Kaplan hired David Beyer, an attorney and retired FBI agent, to conduct the independent investigation. The mayor said a separate, independent investigation into the workplace sexual harassment claim is currently underway.

Greenberg announced that former FBI agent Attorney David Beyer will be leading the investigation, independent from Louisville Metro Government.

Beyer also led the 2022 investigation into the deaths at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections facility. He also led the investigation the former TARC director accused of sexual abuse.

Gwinn-Villaroel officially took over as interim chief of Louisville Metro Police (LMPD) on Jan 2., 2023, when Erika Shields resigned from the position. Gwinn-Villaroel became the full time LMPD chief July 2023.

As chief, Gwinn-Villaroel launched the Non-Fatal Shooting Unit and established a new body cam release policy, where LMPD releases the footage within 10 business days. 

She has also been at the table for consent decree negotiations with DOJ officials. 

The chief's administrative leave comes on the heels of the department facing sharp and public criticism in recent weeks after the arrest of No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler at the PGA Championship in May. 

Scheffler was charged with multiple crimes, including felony assault of a police officer, after police claimed Scheffler disregarded Det. Bryan Gillis' orders while directing traffic and "dragged" him to the ground with his car.

All charges were dropped less than two weeks later. Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell said the evidence "did not satisfy the elements of any criminal offenses."

Gillis failed to activate his body camera, a violation of LMPD policy, before arresting Scheffler and was disciplined. An LMPD internal investigation found two other officers, Det. Kelvin Watkins and Officer Javar Downs, also failed to activate their cameras.

Credit: WHAS11 News
Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel's history at the Louisville Metro Police Department. | June 12, 2024

Well-known Louisville attorney Thomas Clay told WHAS11 there should be questions about the "competency" of Gwinn-Villaroel.

Gwinn-Villaroel was previously called into question because of her testimony in a civil trial back in November. The trial stemmed from a 2021 police chase that resulted in a fatal crash that killed Trevon Mitchell.

Gwinn-Villaroel testified under oath that she was not wearing her body camera on scene. She said that if she had the device, she would have turned it on, per the department's policy. However, the attorney for the victim showed evidence that she was in fact wearing her body camera the day of the crash.

The mayor’s office then released a statement saying that Gwinn-Villaroel “misspoke in response to a gotcha question.”

Before getting the role as LMPD chief, Gwinn-Villaroel served as the department's deputy chief for a year and a half. In that role, she assisted in leading day-to-day operations for LMPD in addition to several department-wide reforms.

Gwinn-Villaroel spent 24 years with the Atlanta Police as a beat officer and served in various other positions such as detective, sergeant, lieutenant and captain.

In 2020, she was promoted to commander of the Atlanta Police Department's Training Academy before accepting the LMPD deputy chief position in 2021.

Watch the full news conference: 

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