The Louisville Metro police chief who oversaw the department’s mishandling of the Scottie Scheffler arrest resigned Tuesday, Mayor Craig Greenberg announced, according to the Associated Press.
Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel resigned due to the mishandling of a sexual harassment claim about an officer, per the report, becoming the third Louisville police chief to be fired or resign since 2020.
The Louisville police department came under fire in May after charges against Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked golfer, were dropped following his highly publicized arrest.
A miscommunication regarding his entry to Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville during the PGA Championship on May 17 led to Scheffler being arrested.
The 28-year-old was arrested and charged with second-degree assault of a police officer, third-degree criminal mischief, reckless driving and disregarding signals from officer directing traffic.
Jefferson County attorney Mike O’Connell later filed a motion to dismiss all charges since Scheffler’s claim of it being a “big misunderstanding” was “corroborated by the evidence.”
The parties reportedly agreed not to pursue legal action against one another.
“I wish to put this incident behind me and move on, and I hope (arresting officer Det. Bryan Gillis) will do the same. Police officers have a difficult job and I hold them in high regard,” Scheffler said in a statement. “This was a severe miscommunication in a chaotic situation.”
Gwinn-Villaroel had been suspended on June 12 due to sexual harassment allegations unrelated to the Scheffler arrest.
Two female officers filed lawsuits stating they had been sexually harassed by fellow officers, according to the AP report. Greenberg called the alleged behavior “unacceptable and inexcusable.”
He did not say whether Gwinn-Villaroel left on her own accord or if she had been pushed out. She had been named the department’s full-time police chief last July, per the report.
“Everyone should be treated with respect by their colleagues,” Greenberg said, per the AP. “And everyone has the responsibility to treat others with respect. That should be true in every workplace.”
