Louisville’s police chief is suspended over her handling of sexual harassment claim against officer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Louisville’s police chief has been placed on leave over her handling of a sexual harassment allegation involving her officers, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said Wednesday.

In the surprise move, Greenberg announced Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel’s suspension less than a year after she became the first Black woman to lead the department in a full-time position.

Greenberg said the chief was not directly involved in the harassment incident.

“This concerns her handling of the allegation once it was reported to her,” Greenberg said at a news conference Wednesday evening. Greenberg did not elaborate on the nature of the allegation.

Louisville’s police department has had a revolving door at the top of its leadership since Breonna Taylor was shot to death by officers during a botched raid in 2020. Gwinn-Villaroel is the third full-time chief since Taylor’s death, and the department has also had three interim chiefs, including a stint by Gwinn-Villaroel.

She came to Louisville from the Atlanta Police Department in 2021 alongside former Chief Erika Shields, who hired her as a deputy chief. Gwinn-Villaroel was named the full-time chief in July 2023.

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When she was interim chief, Greenberg praised Gwinn-Villaroel for the department’s handling of a mass shooting that killed five people at a downtown bank in 2023.

But on Wednesday, Greenberg said he was seriously concerned about her handling of the sexual harassment allegation, particularly given the U.S. Justice Department’s previous criticism of the department in this regard.

The Justice Department conducted a wide-ranging investigation of the police department after Taylor’s death, finding that Louisville police had engaged in a pattern of discrimination and the violation of constitutional rights.

Gwinn-Villaroel will be placed on temporary paid leave, Greenberg said. He named Deputy Chief Paul Humphrey as acting chief during the investigation.