The scandal-hit Louisville Police Department has received two sexual harassment complaints in the past month, with allegations of nude selfies, officer swapping and wild pool parties circulating within the department.
The turmoil, compounded by the controversial arrest of golf star Scottie Scheffler earlier this month, led to the resignation of Police Chief Jackie Gwynn Villarroel this week.
She is the third full-time top Louisville police officer to resign or be fired since an officer shot and killed Breonna Taylor during a botched drug investigation in 2020, sparking a national media outcry.
In a lawsuit filed last week, Sergeant Lauren Kirby alleges that her superior tried to kiss her at a pool party at his home and that the superior’s wife, also a Louisville police officer and her direct supervisor, encouraged the affair.
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Louisville Police Officer Christine Silk (left) and Sergeant Lauren Kirby filed a lawsuit alleging the department failed to protect them from sexual harassment. The Louisville Police Department’s chief (center) resigned on Tuesday. (Louisville Metro Police Department/Courier Journal)
Kirby alleges in court documents that Lt. Jeff Roeder and his wife, Maj. Shannon Roeder, hosted an “adults only” party at their home in 2020 for members of the police department’s Special Victims Unit.
Kirby claims the hosts quickly became intoxicated and Shannon Roeder began kissing the detective in front of the other guests before disappearing with him to another part of the mansion.
Jeff Lauder approached Kirby, a married mother, commented on her physique and then directly propositioned her for sex, the paper reported.
Lauder stressed that his wife supported the idea because they were in an open relationship. “Lauren was shocked, upset and extremely uncomfortable,” the lawsuit states.
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Louisville Police Department Capt. Jeff Roeder and his wife, Maj. Shannon Roeder; (Louisville Police Department)
Kirby declined and left the party, according to the lawsuit, and she decided not to file a formal complaint at the time due to fears of retaliation.
Rumours about the party swirled within the police force and an investigation was launched in 2022, but ultimately failed, and Kirby is now suing the police for damages.
Another female officer, Christine Silk, filed a lawsuit alleging that two male colleagues repeatedly harassed her, one of whom sent her photos of his penis.
One of the defendants, Officer Justin Lemon, asked his wife if she would be romantically involved with him if they weren’t married, and said she was annoyed by his frequent use of OnlyFans.
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Louisville Police Officer Christine Silk submitted these sexually explicit text messages from her superiors in a lawsuit against the department. (Christine Silk)
According to court documents, Lemon also forced her to read out loud sexual fantasies about her that he had written to her cellphone.
Her training instructor, Officer Dale Cottongim, reportedly asked her rude questions about her son in front of other officers and made other offensive comments.
“In front of her classmates at the academy, Cottongim asked Christine, ‘Did you have a one-night stand to give birth to your son? Is that why your child doesn’t have a father?'” the lawsuit alleges.
According to the newspaper, he received a light punishment in the form of a warning letter and was forced to transfer.
Charges against Scottie Schaefer were dropped after prosecutors called his arrest a “big misunderstanding.” (Getty Images)
She alleged that the department had failed to protect the veteran from workplace abuse.
“Christine is not just one of the victims of harassment and discrimination suffered as a result of LMPD’s actions and failures,” the lawsuit states. “LMPD persists in a disturbing internal culture in which sexual misconduct and predatory behavior by its officers has repeatedly been tolerated, ignored, covered up, and encouraged.”
Shannon Roeder has also made allegations of sexual harassment by Maj. Brian Krieger but has not yet filed a lawsuit. The Courier Journal reported.
A secret recording of a May 22 meeting was released in which Roeder told Gwynn Villarroel that Kriger “sexually harassed me and assaulted me. I can’t work with him.”
Breonna Taylor was shot and killed during a police raid at her Louisville apartment in March 2022. Former Louisville Police Detective Kelly Goodlett pleaded guilty on August 22, 2022. (Courtesy of Taylor family attorney Sam Aguiar, via The Associated Press, File/Facebook)
After a brief silence, Gwynn Villarroel announced Krieger’s promotion, according to local news outlets.
Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg suspended the police chief for improperly handling Roeder’s complaint and called the sexual harassment allegations “unacceptable and inexcusable.” Gwynn Villarroel resigned on Tuesday.
A Louisville Police Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement that the department does not tolerate sexual misconduct. “We take all allegations of this nature seriously and immediately launch an internal investigation once a report is made,” the statement read.
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The spokesman added that one of the officers named in the lawsuit has been transferred to another department and the other has been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation.
The embattled department came under fire last month after golf superstar Scottie Scheffler was charged with second-degree assault on a police officer, criminal damage to property, reckless driving and failing to obey a police signal while directing traffic.
The charges were later dropped after local prosecutors said the fiasco over entry to Valhalla Golf Club during the PGA Championship was a “big misunderstanding”.
