Gerth: With LMPD Chief Gwinn-Villaroel, the answer is simple: Fire her, Mayor Greenberg
When Louisville Metro Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel wrongly testified she wasn’t wearing a body camera when she arrived on the scene of a deadly accident, the obvious move for Mayor Craig Greenberg was simple.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
When the Courier Journal reported that she lied when she was a member of the Atlanta Police Department, was suspended for 20 days and didn’t divulge this to Louisville officials when they hired her, the obvious move was, well, obvious.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
When she couldn’t bring herself to fire the wheelman in a series of incidents where officers threw Big Gulps at pedestrians as they walked along Louisville streets, there wasn’t but one smart move Greenberg could make.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
When she thought other officers involved in the “Slushygate” scandal deserved short suspensions rather than short walks to the unemployment office, there was only one move Greenberg should have made.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
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And when we learned that three officers involved in the arrest of golfer Scotty Scheffler didn’t turn on their body cameras despite a departmental history of officers not turning on body cameras, the answer again was simple.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
When we learned that, after four years, police still haven’t closed their investigation of a police officer who was caught on video firing pepper balls directly at a television reporter and videographer and that the officer had received raises and promotions since then, Greenberg had but one option.
Fire her.
He didn’t.
Now we learn that Gwinn-Villaroel, hired last July following a secretive selection process, has been suspended for the way she handled a case of alleged sexual harassment just months after the federal Department of Justice criticized the department for how it handled investigations of past sexual misconduct investigations involving officers.
Putting Gwinn-Villaroel on paid leave isn't enough
At a press conference to announce that Gwinn-Villaroel had been suspended, Greenberg didn’t give any details of the sexual harassment allegations — just that he had appointed former FBI agent David Beyer to investigate the department’s handling of the case.
We know now that the announcement that Gwinn-Villaroel had been suspended came after WAVE was set to air a story that said it had audio evidence that she dismissed a command staff officer's allegations of another officer sexually harassing her and suggested the officer who had allegedly been harassed should either get in line or find another job.
The Courier Journal hasn't independently verified the recording.
But it was enough for Greenberg to put Gwinn-Villaroel on paid administrative leave.
Louisville police abuse: Mayor Greenberg sat on U of L report on police abuse. He can't fix Louisville PD.
Here’s an idea.
Quit throwing good money after bad.
Take her off paid administrative leave right now and fire her.
Any one of her past transgressions could have and should have led to Gwinn-Villaroel's dismissal.
More Gerth: Slushygate cops yuck it up while Louisville police's reputation goes to hell
The internet is replete with stories of officers fired for telling — ahem — untruths while on the witness stand like Gwinn-Villaroel did when testifying about her body camera during a civil case last year. In 2019, the Colorado legislature passed a law requiring officers who lie under oath to be decertified.
In 2020, former Mayor Greg Fischer fired LMPD Chief Steve Conrad after police didn't turn on body cameras when they, along with members of the Kentucky National Guard, raided a barbecue stand on West Broadway over concerns people there were violating a curfew.
David "Yaya" McAtee, the owner of the barbecue stand, was shot and killed.
More Gerth: Louisville police chief failed when she let ‘Slushygate’ detective keep his job
Gwinn-Villaroel's decisions to mete out minor punishment to officers involved in the "Slushygate" incidents, including commanding officers who lied during internal affairs investigations, certainly cost the department standing in the community.
It's hard to measure the impact of that on the community, but in 2000, Mayor Dave Armstrong fired Chief Gene Sherrard after Sherrard damaged the department's reputation by approving awards for two white officers who were involved in the shooting death of an unarmed Black teen.
We still don't know the nature of the sexual harassment allegations, but we really don't need to to know Gwinn-Villaroel needs to be fired — she's proved that time and again over the past 11 months.
Joseph Gerth can be reached at 502-582-4702 or by email at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: LMPD police chief suspension doesn't go far enough. Fire her
