Attorney says LMPD chief reacted “deeply disturbing” to major’s sexual harassment allegation | News from WDRB

LOUISVILLE, Kentucky (WDRB) — The attorney for a Louisville Metro Police major who told Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel she was sexually harassed by a colleague said the police chief’s response was “deeply disturbing.”

Attorney Jared Smith told reporters in downtown Louisville on Thursday that Gwinn-Villaroel’s response to the allegation “paints a disturbing picture of a department that lacks strong leadership and does not put the well-being of its officers first.”

Mayor Craig Greenberg placed Gwinn-Villaroel on paid administrative leave on Wednesday after learning of her “handling of an allegation of workplace sexual harassment involving LMPD officers.”

“This situation is particularly concerning given that just last month the U.S. Department of Justice raised serious concerns about the LMPD’s handling of allegations of sexual misconduct,” Greenberg said. “I will not tolerate sexual misconduct in Louisville city government, including in the LMPD.”

Smith said a staff meeting was called on May 22 to announce a series of promotions within the LMPD. Lauder has not yet reported the harassment to Gwinn-Villaroel, Smith said, because she is still “exploring ways to report the complaint confidentially.”

Lauder was sick and attended the meeting virtually, Smith said. According to an audio file of the meeting provided by Smith, Gwinn-Villaroel called each major and asked if there was anyone else on the team they couldn’t work with.

Gwinn-Villaroel: “Is there anyone in this command staff you cannot work with?”

Lauder: “Ma’am, I cannot work with (Maj. Brian Kuriger). He sexually harassed and assaulted me, and I cannot work with him.”

There was silence in the room for 21 seconds before Gwinn-Villaroel said “All clear” and called on the other majors. Shortly after, she confirmed Kuriger’s promotion.

Gwinn-Villaroel: “Your next lieutenant colonel will be Brian Kuriger. … Maj. Lauder, I have heard your concerns and I understand that you cannot do this. That is why we need to talk about the current state of affairs.”

Lauder: “Yes, ma’am. I know now is not a good time to bring it up, but I didn’t want you to say later that I didn’t bring it up. So I’m sorry it had to come out this way.”

Gwinn-Villaroel: “I have heard your concern. Yes, ma’am.”

Smith said he and Lauder – a 16-year veteran of the LMPD who patrols the 1st Division in west Louisville – were “encouraged” by Greenberg’s decision Wednesday to suspend Gwinn-Villaroel.

“What we hear LMPD Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel say in this recording is deeply disturbing as her tone towards her command staff is, in my opinion, aggressive and threatening,” Smith said Thursday. “The environment does not feel welcoming or safe.”

LMPD spokesman John Bradley said Thursday that “no LMPD leadership personnel have been promoted.” LMPD confirmed that Kuriger is currently still a major.

Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey will lead the department in the role of “acting chief.” He is the sixth person to lead the department – permanently or temporarily – since June 2020. Humphrey joined the LMPD in 2006 and spent several years as an officer in the 1st and 6th Divisions in the Newburg and Russell neighborhoods. He joined the SWAT team in 2010 and became its commander in 2017.

In August 2019, Humphrey was promoted to major and named director of training and recruitment. In March 2021, he was promoted to deputy chief and also assumed command of the LMPD’s administrative office.

Humphrey said he was “committed to moving the department forward” and said the LMPD would cooperate with the investigation.

“LMPD takes allegations of sexual misconduct very seriously,” he said. “We will treat this process with the seriousness it deserves and respect the conclusions of the independent investigation and the mayor’s resulting decisions. We will not allow this to distract us.”

Retired FBI agent David Beyer will lead an independent investigation into the chief’s handling of the allegation, Greenberg said. A separate, independent investigation will look into the harassment allegation itself. Beyer previously investigated sexual harassment allegations at Metro Corrections and TARC at the request of the City Council.

Gwinn-Villaroel was named permanent chief of the LMPD last July after serving as deputy chief and interim chief for the department for nearly two years. She was interim chief when an Old National Bank employee opened fire on a downtown Louisville office building and when the Justice Department released a scathing report rebuking the LMPD’s actions in recent years.

Prompted by the death of Breonna Taylor in 2020, the Justice Department’s investigation concluded that there is reasonable cause to believe that the LMPD and city government “engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of their rights under the Constitution and federal law,” including excessive use of force, searches based on invalid warrants, and conducting unauthorized traffic and pedestrian stops.

Police took a closer look at 33 cases of possible officer misconduct listed in the report released in March 2023 that were either not formally investigated or not formally investigated at all. After a formal review of the cases, the chief said “no further formal investigations will take place.”

Gwinn-Villaroel and the city’s attorneys have repeatedly downplayed the Justice Department’s findings in civil cases against LMPD in court. In depositions, she repeatedly referred to the Justice Department’s findings as “allegations” that had nothing to do with the case at hand, a lawsuit filed by the family of Trevon Mitchell, who was killed when a suspect ran a traffic light and struck his moped.

In November, Gwinn-Villaroel testified under oath at Mitchell’s death trial that she was not wearing a body camera at the scene of a fatal crash in 2021, after which the crash victims’ attorney presented photographic evidence of that.

Gwinn-Villaroel was called to the witness stand in the civil case against LMPD Officer Ben Sullivan over a 2021 police chase that ended in a fatal crash at the intersection of Broadway and Dr. WJ Hodge Street. The police chief testified that the pursuit, which violated department policy, was not the cause of the crash that killed Mitchell.

Following allegations that the pursuit may have been racially motivated, Gwinn-Villaroel testified that there was no footage from her device’s body camera because she was not wearing a camera when she visited the crime scene. But lawyers later showed a snapshot of video from the crime scene showing that Gwinn-Villaroel was wearing a body camera.

Most recently, the LMPD was in the national spotlight after Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top golfer, was arrested outside Valhalla Golf Club in east Louisville during PGA Championship week. Three LMPD officers initially did not have their body cameras on when Scheffler was arrested on May 17 for allegedly refusing to stop as he entered Valhalla and dragging an officer – charges that have since been dropped.

According to 63 pages of documents, images and an investigative file released Friday, Detectives Bryan Gillis and Kelvin Watkins and Officer Javar Downs failed to turn on their body cameras, violating police regulations. The officers had to fill out “non-activation” forms. Gillis received counseling.

There is no body-worn camera footage of the incident before Gillis was allegedly attacked. In addition to not having his body camera on, Gillis was verbally reprimanded for reaching into a running vehicle.

“Tactically, he acted poorly by making what amounted to a misunderstanding about a traffic violation (a punishable B offense according to the KRS) even riskier and therefore hardly rewarded,” the investigation states.

Gwinn-Villaroel came to Louisville after serving as “commander of the training academy” with the Atlanta Police Department and “working tirelessly to implement a number of initiatives to improve police training to meet the recommendations of the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing,” an LMPD press release said when she was hired as deputy police chief.

Gwinn-Villaroel has been described as a devoted wife and mother. She was senior pastor of Unstoppable Praise Ministry in Atlanta. She previously led First Gethsemane Baptist Church in Atlanta. According to that church’s website, Gwinn-Villaroel’s husband, David Villaroel, is also in law enforcement. He is listed as a major in the APD and as the director of communications.

Erika Shields, then-LMPD chief, worked with Gwinn-Villaroel at APD for more than 20 years.

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