Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he “does not agree” with President Donald Trump’s recent executive order that would let the U.S. Attorney General end all federal consent decrees.
Days after the order, six Justice Department attorneys were removed from working on the Louisville consent decree case, the Courier Journal reported. A federal judge has not yet signed off on the agreement.
Greenberg said he’s confident the city would work toward reform without the DOJ.
“What I'm focused on is this community and how we best move this community forward, and it's through the reforms, regardless of the format,” he said at his regular press conference.
Greenberg said he was pleased with the progress LMPD has made in the last year.
He praised Louisville Metro Police and Chief Paul Humphrey for the improvements made to the police force’s sexual harassment policy, which was updated last June following a string of workplace sexual harassment allegations.
Under the changes, sexual harassment is defined more clearly and includes examples such as: unwanted sexual advances, “sexual jokes and innuendo” and “commentary about an individual’s body, sexual prowess, or sexual deficiencies.”
The policy changes — instituted when Humphrey was the interim chief — aimed to make it easier for victims to report and prove harassment and misconduct. Victims may report misconduct directly to the chief, the city’s human resources department, the ethics tip line or with the Office of Inspector General.
All sworn officers are also required to take a training course on the new policies.
Greenberg said Humphrey has fired three officers in less than a year for misconduct.
“We have been focused on moving forward in a new way, and I'm pleased that we changed the policies,” Greenberg said. “I am pleased that we have more reporting, and I'm pleased that Chief Humphrey took action and fired three individuals just in the past six months for conduct that is not acceptable on LMPD or anywhere.”
Officer Justin LeMon was fired last month for sending a sexually explicit photo to a female officer, according to a report this week from WDRB.
Court records show officer Christine Silk also alleged a slew of other inappropriate behaviors from LeMon. She said he asked her to read a sexual fantasy he wrote about her, told her to hug him while he had an erection and sent more sexually explicit text messages to her.
Silk filed a lawsuit last year against LMPD and Louisville Metro that mentions LeMon and her former training officer Dale Cottongim.
The lawsuit alleged Cottongim made many inappropriate comments about Silk, such as if she wanted child care for her son she could “go on a date, take a guy home, sleep with him.”
Silk reported Cottongim for sexual harassment, and he received a letter of reprimand and wastransferred to another division, then exonerated.
Last week, LMPD ended a five-year sexual harassment investigation into two other LMPD officers, Maj. Shannon and Jeffrey Lauder. The two were responsible for hosting an “adult pool party” with other officers where they allegedly sexually harassed another officer.
According to a report from WDRB, Jeffrey Lauder resigned as SWAT team commander, was suspended for 15 days and transferred to patrol on April 29.
Shannon Lauder retired on April 1. Last year, Lauder accused another high-ranking officer of sexual harassment. Jackie Gwinn-Villaroel resigned her position as chief of the department following controversy over her handling of the accusation. Maj. Brian Kuriger was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing by Humphrey.
